Prescription Drug Abuse Increases Drastically in 20 Years: Painkiller Use Stabilizes

After an increase of opioid prescriptions that went from 76 million to 210 million over a 20-year span, researchers believe that the prescriptions and consumption of these painkillers have finally stabilized.

The results determined by a new Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health could be the light at the end of the tunnel after decades of unabated misuse and abuse of prescription opioids. The unnerving numbers reached their peak in 2010 when 12 million people reported using prescription opioids recreationally. The year 2009 featured 475,000 emergency room visits related to the drugs as well.

These numbers have been of immense concern for medical experts as well as government and law enforcement officials because the issue is difficult to monitor. Millions of people suffer from chronic pain and millions more undergo surgery each year, and these patients' pain needs have to be managed. Prescription opioids provide a solution, but many people have become addicted and a growing number of teens have started using them recreationally.

The drugs' recreational use can lead to addiction as well as the consumption of heroin, since prescription painkillers are a synthetic form of heroin. When those who are misusing or abusing these drugs can no longer easily obtain the prescription drugs from friends or family members, they seek out drug dealers to provide for them.

The University of Columbia researchers collected data spanning between 1999-2008 from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's system. Each state across the country has their own drug-monitoring program, varying in effectiveness since some areas see higher drug abuse statistics than others. These programs, otherwise known as State Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs), were shown to be more effective in decreasing prescription drug abuse than other programs operated by other government agencies.

Senior author of the study Guohua Li reported, "Seven states with monitoring programs governed by a state department of health dispensed nearly 18% fewer morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) than states without the program," in this news release. Less MMEs are thought to help mitigate addiction to the prescription opioids.

To read more about prescription opioid numbers and drug abuse, visit this JAMA journal entry.