- 1 in 5 young adults has abused a prescription drug.
- 1 in 10 youth, ages 12-17, has abused over-the-counter cough medicine to get high.
- According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the nonmedical use of prescription drugs rose from 2.5 percent of the population in 2008 to 2.8 percent in 2009.
- The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) showed that nearly one-third of people aged 12 and over who used drugs for the first time in 2009 began by using a prescription drug non-medically.
- According to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), over 70 percent of people who abused prescription pain relievers got them from friends or relatives, while approximately 5 percent got them from a drug dealer or from the Internet.
- According to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), more than 7 million Americans reported use of a prescription medication for non-medical purposes in the past 30 days.
- According to the 2010 Monitoring the Future Study, sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2.7% of 8th graders, 7.7% of 10th graders, and 8.0% of 12th graders had abused Vicodin for nonmedical purposes at least once in the past year.
- According to the 2010 Monitoring the Future Study, sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2.1% of 8th graders, 4.6% of 10th graders, and 5.1% of 12th graders had abused OxyContin for nonmedical purposes at least once in the year prior to being surveyed.
- According to the 2009 Monitoring the Future Study, prescription drugs are the second most-abused category of drugs after marijuana.
- According to a 2008 Department of Defense Survey of Health Related Behaviors Among Active Duty Military Personnel, in our military, illicit drug use increased from 5 percent to 12 percent among active duty service members over a three-year period from 2005 to 2008, primarily attributed to prescription drug abuse.