The emergence of clinically efficacious prescription drugs to treat pain, anxiety, and learning disorders is accompanied by the potential for nonmedical use. Prescription drug abuse has become a modern-day epidemic in the United States and is now second only to marijuana use across all age groups. This article reviews the various data collection, analysis, and reporting systems that have been d...

EMOTIONAL RISK FACTORS FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN A CHRONIC PAINPOPULATION: DEVELOPING A PREDICTIVE MODEL AND TESTING METHODSFOR ASSESSING STIGMATIZED BEHAVIORSbyLINDSAY MS OBERLEITNERAugust 2011 Advisor: Mark A. Lumley, Ph.D.Major: Psychology (Clinical)Degree: Doctor of PhilosophyThere are currently few factors guiding physicians’ decisions as to whether ani...

The intentional misuse of psychotropic drugs is recognized as a significant public health concern in Canada, although there is a lack of empirical research detailing this. Even less research has been documented on the misuse of prescription drugs among First Nations in Canada. In the past, Western biomedical and individual-based approaches to researching Indigenous health have been applied, whe...

OBJECTIVE Despite dramatic increases in the misuse of prescription opioids, the extent to which their intravenous injection places drug users at risk of acquiring hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains unclear. We sought to compare risk of HCV acquisition from injection of prescription opioids to that from other street drugs among high-risk street youth. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING Va...

Chronic pain patients who show aberrant drug-related behavior often are discontinued from treatment when they are noncompliant with their use of opioids for pain. The purpose of this study was to conduct a randomized trial in patients who were prescribed opioids for noncancer back pain and who showed risk potential for or demonstration of opioid misuse to see if close monitoring and cognitive b...

Yes. Of the several screening instruments developed and originally validated in patients in a pain center population (TABLE), one also has been validated in primary care. The Current Opioid Misuse Measure (COMM) predicts aberrant drug-related behaviors in primary care patients who have been prescribed opioids within the past 12 months with a sensitivity of 77% and specificity of 77% (strength o...

BACKGROUND Given the growing worldwide market of non-prescription drugs, monitoring their misuse in the context of self-medication represents a particular challenge in Public Health. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of misuse, abuse, and dependence on non-prescription psychoactive drugs. METHOD During one month, in randomly solicited community pharmacies, an anonymous q...