Study Finds Prescription Painkiller Addicts Get Drugs from Friends, Not Dealers

According to a new government study, people who are addicted to prescription painkillers get their “fix” from friends or relatives, who give them the drugs for free, or from doctor shopping, rather than going to drug dealers.

However, the prescription painkiller addicts who abuse the most tend to “doctor shop,” ie go to different doctors to get different prescriptions.

The study showed that 1 in 4 prescription painkiller addicts abused the drugs almost daily said that they had multiple prescriptions from multiple doctors. However, nearly that number of prescription painkiller addicts said they got the drugs from friends or family; only 15% of the most frequent abusers said they bought prescription painkillers from a drug dealer.

Those abusers “are probably using at much greater volumes and simply asking a friend for a pill now and then is not going to be sufficient,” said Dr. Leonard Paulozzi, a researcher at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Paulozzi and other researchers with the CDC studied 4 years of data on the growing problem of prescription painkiller and drug abuse across the country. The study was published on Monday, March 3rd, in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The CDC’s report showed that prescription painkiller abuse has held steady in the past few years, at about 12 million people, or 1 in 20 people aged 12 or older. However, while the number of prescription painkiller addicts has stayed steady, overdose deaths tripled between 1999 and 2010.

Previous analyses of prescription painkiller and other prescription drug abuse have not focused on the sources of the drugs. The CDC study, however, allowed researchers to examine the role of “pill mills,” theft, and friends and family.

Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, said the research showed the need for greater focus on doctors who are “problem prescribers,” a group of “a very small number of prescribers — who are using their medical licenses to sell drugs.”

Recent efforts called “take back” days encourage those who were prescribed painkillers, especially morphine, oxycodone, and hydrocodone, but who no longer need the drugs, to return the remaining pills to pharmacies. These clean-up efforts help prevent casual users from becoming prescription painkiller addicts, according to the study, but it does not stop current addicts from finding sources of pills.

Some states have created strict databases to monitor patients’ prescriptions, in an attempt to stem prescription painkiller abuse. Other states carefully monitor doctors’ prescriptions, charging “pill mills” for profiting from drug addiction.

The Strom Law Firm Can Help with Charges of Prescription Painkiller Abuse

If you have received criminal drug abuse charges, or are suspected of abusing prescription painkillers, you are not automatically guilty, and you do not give up any of your rights. The attorneys at the Strom Law Firm can help defend you. We offer free, confidential consultations to discuss the facts of your case. Do not let criminal drug charges such as trafficking or possession ruin your reputation and career prospects. Contact us today. 803.252.4800.