What is prescription drug abuse?
Although
most people take prescription
medications responsibly, there has
been an increase in the nonmedical
use of or, as NIDA refers to it in
this report, abuse1
of prescription drugs in the United
States.
What are
some of the commonly
abused prescription drugs?
Although
many prescription drugs can be abused,
there are several classifications of
medications that are commonly abused.
The three
classes of prescription drugs that are
most commonly abused are:
-
Opioids, which are most often
prescribed to treat pain;
-
Central nervous system (CNS)
depressants, which are used to treat
anxiety and sleep disorders; and
-
Stimulants, which are prescribed to
treat the sleep disorder narcolepsy
and attention-deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD).
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