Photo by ©iStock.com/pagadesignA special issue of the journal Addictive Behaviors features more than a dozen articles related to understanding and addressing the serious public health issues related to the nonmedical use of prescription drugs. Many articles are funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
Collectively, the articles in this issue examine use patterns in the United States, risk factors, clinical characteristics of individuals in treatment for substance use disorders, and consequences. Topics include: the public health issues related to the nonmedical use of prescription drugs; nonmedical benzodiazepine use among adults with opioid use disorders; diversion of prescription stimulants among college students; perceived risks of heroin use among nonmedical prescription opioid users; and many others. The articles build upon a large body of literature that has accumulated during the last two decades.
This special issue of Addictive Behaviors, edited by NIDA Deputy Director Dr. Wilson Compton and the University of Maryland School of Public Health NIDA grantee Dr. Amelia Arria, can be found in its entirety at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030646031630329X.
For more information, contact the NIDA press office at media@nida.nih.gov or 301-443-6245. Follow NIDA on Twitter and Facebook.