N ational S urvey on D rug Use and H ealth
The NSDUH Report
Issue 39
How Young Adults Obtain
Prescription Pain Relievers
for Nonmedical Use
In Brief
● In 2005, 12.4 percent of young adults
aged 18 to 25 used prescription pain
relievers nonmedically in the past
year, and 1.7 percent met the criteria
for past year prescription pain reliever
dependence or abuse
● Among young adults aged 18 to 25
who used prescription pain relievers
nonmedically in the past year, over half
(53.0 percent) obtained them from a
friend or relative for free when they last
used pain relievers nonmedically
● Among young adults aged 18 to 25
who used prescription pain relievers
nonmedically in the past year and
met the criteria for prescription pain
reliever dependence or abuse, 37.5
percent obtained the prescription pain
relievers that they used most recently
for nonmedical purposes for free from
a friend or relative, 19.9 percent bought
them from a friend or relative, and 13.6
percent obtained them from one doctor
The NSDUH Report (formerly The NHSDA Report) is published periodically by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA). All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission
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2006
T
here has been a growing concern in
both the law enforcement and public
health arenas about the increase in the
use of pharmaceutical drugs for nonmedical
use, especially among young adults.1-3 The
National Survey on Drug Use and Health
(NSDUH) asks persons aged 12 or older
questions related to their nonmedical use of
prescription-type drugs, including prescrip-
tion pain relievers, during the past year.4 The
2005 NSDUH also asks individuals who used
prescription pain relievers nonmedically in
the past year how they obtained prescription
pain relievers the last time they used them.5
Responses included (1) got one or more pre-
scriptions for pain relievers from just one
doctor; (2) got prescriptions for pain relievers
from more than one doctor; (3) wrote fake pre-
scriptions for pain relievers; (4) stole the pain
relievers from a doctor’s office, clinic, hospital,
or pharmacy; (5) got the pain relievers from a
friend or relative for free; (6) bought the pain
relievers from a friend or relative; (7) took the
pain relievers from a friend or relative without
asking; (8) bought the pain relievers from a
drug dealer or other stranger; (9) bought the
pain relievers on the Internet; and (10) got the
NSDUH REPORT: HOW YOUNG ADULTS OBTAIN PRESCRIPTION PAIN RELIEVERS FOR NONMEDICAL USE Issue 39, 2006

Figure 1. Percentages of Reported Method** of

Table 1. Percentages of Past Year Nonmedical
Obtaining Prescription Pain Relievers for Their Most
Prescription Pain Reliever Use among Persons Aged
Recent Nonmedical Use in the Past Year among
18 to 25, by Demographic Characteristics: 2005 NSDUH
Persons Aged 18 to 25: 2005 NSDUH

2005
Got Them from a Friend
Standard 53.0
or Relative for Free
Characteristic Number Percentage Error
Prescriptions from
Total 4,030 12.4 0.30 12.7
One Doctor
Gender
Bought from a
10.6
Males 2,211 13.5 0.45 Friend or Relative
Females 1,819 11.3 0.39 Bought from a Drug
4.8
Dealer or Other Stranger
Employment Status Took from a Friend or
3.8
Full-Time 1,875 12.2 0.42 Relative without Asking
Part-Time 1,040 12.6 0.59 Got Them Some
2.9
Unemployed 400 15.5 1.16 Other Way
Other 715 11.3 0.65 Prescriptions from More
1.3
Than One Doctor
College Enrollment*
Other Unknown
Enrolled in College 1,292 13.4 0.61 10.0
or Invalid Source
Not Enrolled in College 1,558 13.7 0.50
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Source: SAMHSA, 2005 NSDUH. Source: SAMHSA, 2005 NSDUH.

pain relievers in some other way. Respondents who
had gotten the prescription pain relievers in some
other way were asked to indicate the specific way(s)
they got them.
This report focuses on the prevalence of past
year nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers
among young adults aged 18 to 25 and how they
obtained the prescription pain relievers they used
most recently for nonmedical purposes. All find-
ings presented in this report are based on 2005
NSDUH data.
prescription pain relievers nonmedically in the
past year (13.5 vs. 11.3 percent) (Table 1). Unem-
ployed persons aged 18 to 25 were more likely to
have used prescription pain relievers nonmedi-
cally (15.5 percent) than those employed part time
or full time or those in the “other” employment
group (12.6, 12.2, and 11.3 percent, respectively).6
Among young adults aged 18 to 22, the prevalence
of past year nonmedical prescription pain reliever
use did not differ significantly between those en-
rolled and those not enrolled in college.7

Nonmedical Use of Prescription Pain Method of Obtaining Prescription Pain

Relievers in the Past Year
In 2005, 12.4 percent of young adults aged 18 to
25 (4.0 million persons) used prescription pain re-
lievers nonmedically in the past year, and 1.7 per-
cent met the criteria for past year prescription pain
reliever dependence or abuse. In this age group,
males were more likely than females to have used
Relievers for Nonmedical Purposes
Among young adults aged 18 to 25 who used pre-
scription pain relievers nonmedically in the past
year, over half (53.0 percent) obtained them from a
friend or relative for free when they last used pain
relievers nonmedically (Figure 1). The other most
commonly mentioned methods were that they
Issue 39, 2006 NSDUH REPORT: HOW YOUNG ADULTS OBTAIN PRESCRIPTION PAIN RELIEVERS FOR NONMEDICAL USE

Figure 2. Percentages of Reported Method*** of them from a friend or relative, and 13.6 percent
Obtaining Prescription Pain Relievers for Their Most obtained them from one doctor (Figure 2). Young
Recent Nonmedical Use among Persons Aged 18 to adult females who met the criteria for prescrip-
25 Who Were Dependent on or Abused Prescription
Pain Relievers in the Past Year: 2005 NSDUH
tion pain reliever dependence or abuse were more
likely than their male counterparts to have ob-
Got Them from a Friend tained their most recently used prescription pain
37.5
or Relative for Free relievers from a friend or relative for free (46.6 vs.
Bought from a
19.9 30.6 percent) and were less likely to have bought
Friend or Relative
them from a drug dealer or other stranger (8.1 vs.
Prescriptions from
One Doctor
13.6 15.9 percent).
Bought from a Drug
12.5 End Notes
Dealer or Other Stranger
1
Took from a Friend or Office of National Drug Control Policy. (2004, January). Pulse check: Trends
6.3 in drug abuse (NCJ 201398). Washington, DC: The White House, Execu-
Relative without Asking
tive Office of the President. [Available at http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.
Prescriptions from More gov/publications/drugfact/pulsechk/january04/index.html]
2.8
Than One Doctor 2
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2002, December). Community Epide-
Got Them Some miology Work Group: Epidemiologic trends in drug abuse advance report.
2.3 Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National
Other Way
Institutes of Health. [Available at http://www.drugabuse.gov/about/organization/
Bought on the CEWG/AdvancedRep/1202adv/1202adv.html]
1.3
Internet 3
Office of Applied Studies. (2006). Results from the 2005 National Survey
Other Unknown on Drug Use and Health: National findings (DHHS Publication No. SMA 06-
1.9 4194, NSDUH Series H-30). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental
or Invalid Source
Health Services Administration. [Available at
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/p0000016.htm#2k5]
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
4
Nonmedical use is defined as the use of prescription-type drugs not pre-
scribed for the respondent by a physician or used only for the experience or
Source: SAMHSA, 2005 NSDUH. feeling they caused. Nonmedical use of any prescription-type pain relievers
does not include use of over-the-counter drugs.
5
The estimates for the method for most recent nonmedical use include (a)
obtained their most recently used prescription pain past month users who reported a single source of obtainment during the
past 30 days, (b) past month users who identified their last method of obtain-
relievers for nonmedical purposes from one doc- ment after reporting multiple methods of obtainment in the past 30 days, and
tor (12.7 percent) and that they bought them from (c) all other past year users who reported their last method of obtainment in
the past year.
a friend or relative (10.6 percent). Young adult 6
Respondents in the “other” employment group included individuals con-
females were more likely than their male coun- sidered not to be in the labor force, such as retired persons, students only,
homemakers, or disabled persons.
terparts to have obtained the prescription pain
7
NSDUH asks young adults aged 18 to 22 about college enrollment. For this
relievers that they used most recently for nonmedi- analysis, respondents were classified as college students if they reported
cal purposes for free from a friend or relative (58.9 that they were full-time or part-time students in their first through fourth year
(or higher) at a college or university. Respondents who were on break from
vs. 48.2 percent). Conversely, males were nearly college were considered enrolled if they intended to return to college or
university when the break ended. Respondents whose current college
twice as likely as females to have bought their most enrollment status was unknown were excluded from the analysis.
recently used prescription pain relievers from a
friend or relative (13.4 vs. 7.2 percent) and three Table and Figure Notes
times as likely to have bought them from a drug
* NSDUH asks young adults aged 18 to 22 about college enrollment. For this
dealer or other stranger (6.9 vs. 2.3 percent). analysis, respondents were classified as college students if they reported
Among young adults aged 18 to 25 who used that they were full-time or part-time students in their first through fourth year
(or higher) at a college or university. Respondents who were on break from
prescription pain relievers nonmedically in the college were considered enrolled if they intended to return to college or
university when the break ended. Respondents whose current college enroll-
past year and met the criteria for prescription ment status was unknown were excluded from the analysis.
pain reliever dependence or abuse, 37.5 percent ** The following response options were reported at less than 1 percent and,
obtained the prescription pain relievers that they therefore, are not shown: “Wrote a Fake Prescription,” “Bought on the Inter-
net,” and “Stole Them from a Health Facility.”
used most recently for nonmedical purposes for *** The following response options were reported at less than 1 percent and
free from a friend or relative, 19.9 percent bought are not shown: “Wrote a Fake Prescription” and “Stole Them from a Health
Facility.”
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Research findings from the SAMHSA 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is

How Young Adults Obtain an annual survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Prior to
2002, this survey was called the National Household Survey

Prescription Pain Relievers on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). The 2005 data are based on in-
formation obtained from 22,511 persons aged 18 to 25. The
survey collects data by administering questionnaires to a

for Nonmedical Use representative sample of the population through face-to-face

● In 2005, 12.4 percent of young adults aged 18 to 25 used
prescription pain relievers nonmedically in the past year, and
1.7 percent met the criteria for past year prescription pain
interviews at their place of residence.
The NSDUH Report is prepared by the Office of Applied
Studies (OAS), SAMHSA, and by RTI International in Re-
search Triangle Park, North Carolina. (RTI International is a
trade name of Research Triangle Institute.)
Information on NSDUH used in compiling data for this issue
is available in the following publication:

reliever dependence or abuse
● Among young adults aged 18 to 25 who used prescription
pain relievers nonmedically in the past year, over half (53.0
percent) obtained them from a friend or relative for free when
they last used pain relievers nonmedically
● Among young adults aged 18 to 25 who used prescription
pain relievers nonmedically in the past year and met the
criteria for prescription pain reliever dependence or abuse,
Office of Applied Studies. (2006). Results from the 2005
National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National findings
(DHHS Publication No. SMA 06-4194, NSDUH Series
H-30). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration.
Also available online: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov.
Because of improvements and modifications to the 2002
NSDUH, estimates from the 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005
surveys should not be compared with estimates from the
2001 or earlier versions of the survey to examine changes
over time.

37.5 percent obtained the prescription pain relievers that they

used most recently for nonmedical purposes for free from a U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
friend or relative, 19.9 percent bought them from a friend or Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration
Office of Applied Studies
relative, and 13.6 percent obtained them from one doctor www.samhsa.gov