Original articleLeftover Prescription Opioids and Nonmedical Use Among High School Seniors: A Multi-Cohort National Study
Section snippets
Participants and procedures
The MTF study annually surveys a cross-sectional, nationally representative sample of high school seniors in approximately 135 public and private schools in the coterminous U.S., using self-administered paper–pencil questionnaires in classrooms. The MTF study uses a multistage sampling procedure. In Stage 1, geographic areas or primary sampling units are selected; in Stage 2, schools within primary sampling units are selected (with probability proportionate to school size); and in Stage 3,
Prevalence of diversion sources associated with NMUPO
An estimated 36.9% of past-year nonmedical users of prescription opioids obtained these opioid medications from their own leftover medication. The estimated prevalence of other diversion sources included: bought on the Internet (1.4%), took from friend or relative without asking (22.2%), given for free from friend or relative (55.0%), bought from a friend or relative (37.9%), bought from a drug dealer (19.4%), and other method (9.5%). Among past-year nonmedical users of prescription opioids,
Discussion
The present study found that leftover prescription opioids from previous prescriptions account for a substantial source of NMUPO among high school seniors in the U.S. We found that more than a third of past-year nonmedical users of prescription opioids obtained these medications from their own previous prescription(s). The findings of the present study are consistent with previous work among adolescents, which has shown that using one's previous prescription serves as a major source of NMUPO [1]
Acknowledgments
The development of this article was supported by Research Grants R01DA024678 and R01DA031160 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or the National Institutes of Health. The Monitoring the Future data were collected by Research Grant R01DA01411 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of
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