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Arkansas News: The Growing Problem of Prescription Drug Abuse
Published in the May 2010 Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter
- Arkansas has the worst teen prescription pain reliever abuse problem in the entire US. (SAMHSA, 2007, as reported in ONDCP Teens and Prescription Drugs report, February 2007)
- By the time Arkansas high school students have reached their senior year, 22% have abused prescription drugs. (APNA, 2008)
- Close to 10% of Arkansas high school seniors reported nonmedical use of prescription drugs in the past 30 days. (APNA,2008)
- Arkansas sixth graders abuse prescription drugs more than any other substance except alcohol and cigarettes. (APNA, 2008)
- Over-the-counter and prescription drug abuse is rapidly increasing in earlier grades and at a rate comparable to, but faster than alcohol and cigarettes. (Division of Behavioral Health Services (DBHS), Special Report on Over the Counter and Prescription Drug Use Among Arkansas Students, unreleased)
- In 2007, the rate of past 30-day sedative use among Arkansas youth was roughly three times that of the national rate (DBHS, APNA, 2007, and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Monitoring the Future, 2007)
- Arkansas has consistently ranked among the 10 states with the highest rate of non-medical use of pain relievers by 12 to 20-year-old individuals since state estimates of this measure first began in 2002. (SAMHSA, Office of Applied Studies, Short Report on Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues – Arkansas, December 2008). Nationwide, prescription pain relievers have more first-time users than any illicit drug, including marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, inhalants, LSD, methamphetamine, heroin, and PCP. (SAMHSA, National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2007)
- Seven of the 10 drugs most abused by high school seniors are prescription or over-the-counter drugs acquired primarily from teens’ friends or relatives. (NIDA, Monitoring the Future, 2009) For more information, please visit www.ioit2me.com.
