The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse
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Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse · May 2015
Prescription opioid use and non-fatal overdose in a cohort of injection drug users.
There is growing concern regarding rising rates of prescription drug-related deaths among the general North American population as well as increasing availability of illicitly obtained prescription opioids. Concurrently among people who inject drugs (IDU), illicit prescription opioid use has increased while non-fatal overdose remains a major source of morbidity. ⋯ We observed relatively high rates of prescription opioid use among IDU in this setting, and found an independent association between prescription opioid use and non-fatal overdose. Our data is likely representative of riskier substance use associated with those who use prescription opioids within our sample. Interventions to prevent and respond to overdoses should consider the higher risk profiles of IDU who use prescription opioids.
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Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse · May 2015
Doctor shopping for medications used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: shoppers often pay in cash and cross state lines.
Doctor shopping, defined by filling overlapping prescriptions from more than one prescriber at more than two pharmacies, is a way to obtain scheduled medications for diversion or abuse. Little is known about how far attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication shoppers travel, how often they cross state lines to fill their ADHD prescriptions and how often they pay for their medication in cash, i.e. entirely out of pocket. ⋯ Shoppers travelled larger distances, visited more states and paid in cash for ADHD medications more often than non-shoppers. Data sharing among prescriptions monitoring programs can improve their effectiveness and drug utilization studies should take account of cash purchases.