A NIDA-funded study suggests that misuse of prescription opioid pain relievers in high school could be linked to heroin use later in life. Scientists surveyed close to 3,300 14-15-year-old students in ten high schools in the Los Angeles area about their misuse of prescription opioids. Eight schools were in urban neighborhoods; two were suburban. Although none of the students had used heroin prior to the initial survey, a follow-up survey 42 months later showed that seventy (2.1%) students initiated heroin use. The researchers found that nonmedical prescription opioid use was associated with future heroin use. More research is needed to evaluate whether prescription opioid misuse causes heroin use or whether other factors (for example, an environment facilitating drug use) leads to both.
The research was conducted by NIDA-funded scientists at the University of Southern California, University of California at San Diego and the University of Michigan.
Study:
- Lorraine I. Kelley-Quon, M.D., M.S.H.S., Junhan Cho, Ph.D., David R. Strong, Ph.D., Richard A. Miech, Ph.D., Jessica L. Barrington-Trimis, Ph.D., Afton Kechter, M.S., Adam M. Leventhal, Ph.D. Association of Nonmedical Prescription Opioid Use with Subsequent Heroin Use Initiation in Adolescents. JAMA Pediatrics.