Changes in adolescents' nonmedical use of prescription drugs

A recent study has found that reductions in the nonmedical use of prescriptions by adolescents declined between 2009 and 2022 based partly on peer‐to‐peer diversions and perceived difficulty in obtaining such substances. While the results may be partially attributed to prescription guideline changes from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and to schools being closed during COVID, it's still essential to watch out for counterfeit pills, which can contain illicit and lethal fentanyl and other substances, according to authors of a research letter published in the July 24 online issue of JAMA . In “Adolescent Use, Diversion Sources, and Perceived Procurement Difficulty of Prescription Medications,” Sean Esteban McCabe, Ph.D., and colleagues discuss trends reported in the Monitoring the Future study (see ADAW https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adaw.34064 ), which showed a significant decrease in lifetime nonmedical use of prescriptions (23.66% of high school students in 2009 to 16% in 2022), as well as a decline in obtaining these medications from a friend (57.96% in 2009 to 26.87% in 2022) and in buying medications from a friend (44.35% in 2009 to 19.42% in 2022). The percentage of adolescents who said it would be impossible for them to obtain prescriptions for nonmedical use increased from 35.56% in 2009 to 48.96% in 2022. The problem — that lockdown of COVID from 2020 to 2022 and school closures making it difficult to even meet with friends — could affect these numbers, but the researchers expanding on the findings.