Prescription

These PSAs are meant to encourage participation in DEA's Take Back Day and to educate viewers about the importance of disposing of any unwanted, unused or expired prescription medications in your house.

Too often, unused prescription drugs find their way into the wrong hands. That's dangerous and often tragic. That's why it was great to see thousands of folks from across the country clean out their medicine cabinets and turn in - safely and anonymously - a record amount of prescription drugs.

Prescription

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Opioids are a class of drugs naturally found in the opium poppy plant. Some prescription opioids are made from the plant directly, and others are made by scientists in labs using the same chemical structure. Opioids are often used as medicines because they contain chemicals that relax the body and can relieve pain. Prescription opioids are used mostly to treat moderate to severe pain, though some opioids can be used to treat coughing and diarrhea. Opioids can also make people feel very relaxed and "high" - which is why they are sometimes used for non-medical reasons. This can be dangerous because opioids can be highly addictive, and overdoses and death are common. Heroin is one of the world's most dangerous opioids, and is never used as a medicine in the United States.

When misusing a prescription opioid, a person can swallow the medicine in its normal form. Sometimes people crush pills or open capsules, dissolve the powder in water, and inject the liquid into a vein. Some also snort the powder.

Older adults are at higher risk of accidental misuse or abuse because they typically have multiple prescriptions and chronic diseases, increasing the risk of drug-drug and drug-disease interactions, as well as a slowed metabolism that affects the breakdown of drugs. Sharing drug injection equipment and having impaired judgment from drug use can increase the risk of contracting infectious diseases such as HIV and from unprotected sex.

Prescription opioids and heroin are chemically similar and can produce a similar high. In some places, heroin is cheaper and easier to get than prescription opioids, so some people switch to using heroin instead. Data from 2011 showed that an estimated 4 to 6 percent who misuse prescription opioids switch to heroin1,2,3 and about 80 percent of people who used heroin first misused prescription opioids.1,2,3 More recent data suggest that heroin is frequently the first opioid people use. In a study of those entering treatment for opioid use disorder, approximately one-third reported heroin as the first opioid they used regularly to get high.4

If a woman uses prescription opioids when she's pregnant, the baby could develop dependence and have withdrawal symptoms after birth. This is called neonatal abstinence syndrome, which can be treated with medicines. Use during pregnancy can also lead to miscarriage and low birth weight. Read more in the Substance Use in Women Research Report.

Long-term use of prescription opioids, even as prescribed by a doctor, can cause some people to develop a tolerance, which means that they need higher and/or more frequent doses of the drug to get the desired effects.

Drug addiction is a chronic disease characterized by compulsive, or uncontrollable, drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences and long-lasting changes in the brain. The changes can result in harmful behaviors by those who misuse drugs, whether prescription or illicit drugs.

Yes, a person can overdose on prescription opioids. An opioid overdose occurs when a person uses enough of the drug to produce life-threatening symptoms or death. When people overdose on an opioid medication, their breathing often slows or stops. This can decrease the amount of oxygen that reaches the brain, which can result in coma, permanent brain damage, or death.

Some states have passed laws that allow pharmacists to dispense naloxone without a personal prescription. Friends, family, and others in the community can use the nasal spray versions of naloxone to save someone who is overdosing.

Yes, repeated misuse of prescription opioids can lead to a substance use disorder (SUD), a medical illness which ranges from mild to severe and from temporary to chronic. Addiction is the most severe form of an SUD. An SUD develops when continued misuse of the drug changes the brain and causes health problems and failure to meet responsibilities at work, school, or home.

Medications for opioid use disorders are safe, effective, and save lives. These medicines interact with the same opioid receptors in the brain on which other prescription opioids act. However, depending on the prescription drug(s) an individual develops an addiction to, these medicines taken as prescribed may not produce the same effects as other prescription opioids do when they are misused.

Behavioral therapies for addiction to prescription opioids help people modify their attitudes and behaviors related to drug use, increase healthy life skills, and persist with other forms of treatment, such as medication. Some examples include, cognitive behavioral therapy which helps modify the patient's drug use expectations and behaviors, and also effectively manage triggers and stress. Multidimensional family therapy, developed for adolescents with drug use problems, addresses a range of personal and family influences on one's drug use patterns and is designed to improve overall functioning. These behavioral treatment approaches have proven effective, especially when used along with medicines. Read more about drug addiction treatment on the Treatment webpage.

The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.

When used as prescribed by a doctor, prescription medicines can be helpful in treating many illnesses. Stimulants are helpful in managing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. Central nervous system (CNS) depressants treat anxiety, panic, and sleep disorders. Opioids are prescribed to treat pain, coughing, and diarrhea. But when these medicines are misused, they can have serious consequences. Read the Research Report

The ePDMP is a tool to help combat the ongoing prescription drug abuse epidemic in Wisconsin. By providing valuable information about monitored prescription drugs that are dispensed in the state, it aids healthcare professionals in their prescribing and dispensing decisions. The ePDMP also fosters the ability of pharmacies, healthcare professionals, law enforcement agencies, and public health officials to work together to reduce the misuse, abuse, and diversion of monitored prescription drugs.

Medicare Part D provides drug coverage. The Extra Help program helps with the cost of your prescription drugs, like deductibles and copays. You can apply for Extra Help any time before or after you enroll in Part D.

A prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) is an electronic database that tracks controlled substance prescriptions in a state. PDMPs can provide health authorities timely information about prescribing and patient behaviors that contribute to the epidemic and facilitate a nimble and targeted response.

The proportion of people using prescription drugs and the amount of prescriptions filled varies by demographic group. Prescription drug use is associated with age, gender, race and ethnicity, income, and health status. For example, prescription drug use increases with age. Three-quarters of those age 50 to 64 use prescription drugs, compared to 91 percent of those age 80 and older. The average number of prescriptions filled also increases with age, from 13 for those age 50 to 64 to 22 for those age 80 and older (see Figure 1).

Women are generally more likely than men to use prescription drugs. The gap in prescription drug use between men and women is striking for younger populations. Some 40 percent of men and 66 percent of women age 18 to 34 use prescription drugs. Use patterns converge as people get older, however. Similar proportions of men and women age 65 and older are prescription drug users. For example, some 92 percent of men and 90 percent of women age 80 and older use prescription drugs (see Figure 2).

Prescription drug expenditures are highest for people age 65 and older. Drug expen-ditures are particularly high for the oldest adults. For example, average annual prescription drug expenditures for people age 80 and older are almost 1.5 times higher than those for people age 50 to 64 (see Figure 3).

Annual average out-of-pocket prescription drug expenditures for all adults are $177, but people age 65 and older pay much more for their medications. People age 65 to 79 pay $456 out-of-pocket. People age 80 and older pay even more (see Figure 4).

Consumers who have common chronic conditions have substantial prescription drug expenses. Since their total prescription drug expenditures are very high, their total out-of-pocket expenditures are also high. They pay about half of the cost of prescription drugs out-of-pocket. For example, adults with diabetes pay almost $700 out-of-pocket each year (see Figure 5).

The average annual out-of-pocket prescription drug expenditure for Medicare beneficiaries is $581, compared to $297 for those on Medicaid and $156 for those with private insurance. For both the uninsured population and Medicare beneficiaries without prescription drug coverage, out-of-pocket drug expenditures may be high if they must pay the full retail price at the pharmacy.

The Medicaid program is a significant part of state budgets. Over the past several years, Medicaid spending has grown. Spending on prescription drugs is one factor that has contributed to growth in Medicaid spending. Medicaid spending on prescription drugs grew, on average, by 18 percent between 1997 and 2000.4 In 2000, the program spent $21 billion on prescription drugs. ff782bc1db