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Nonmedical Users of OxyContin & Other Pain Relievers: Characteristics of Recent Initiates

The NSDUH Report:  Nonmedical Users of Pain Relievers, Characteristics of Recent Initiates

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Highlights:

  • SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 2.4 million persons aged 12 and older initiated nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers (analgesics) such as OxyContin® within the past year in 2004.
  • Among persons who initiated nonmedical use of pain relievers in the past year, 48.0% used Vicodin®, Lortab®, or Lorcet® nonmedically; 34.3% had used Darvocet®, Darvon®, or Tylenol® with codeine nonmedically; and 20.0% had used Percocet®, Percodan®, or Tylox® nonmedically.
  • Of the past year new users of nonmedical pain relievers, 73.8% had used another illicit drug prior to using pain relievers nonmedically.
  • In 2004, about 615,000 persons began using OxyContin® nonmedically. Nearly all (99.1%) of the persons who first used OxyContin® nonmedically in the past year had used another illicit drug prior to using OxyContin® nonmedically.

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This Short Report, The NSDUH Report:  Nonmedical Users of Pain Relievers, Characteristics of Recent Initiates, is based on SAMHSA's  National Survey on Drug Use and Health, formerly called the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA).  The NSDUH/NHSDA is conducted by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS) in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is the primary source of information on the prevalence, patterns, and consequences of drug and alcohol use and abuse in the general U.S. civilian non institutionalized population, age 12 and older.   The NSDUH/NHSDA also provides estimates for drug use by state.

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SAMHSA, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal Government's lead agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health services in the United States.

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