Characteristics of Primary Prescription and Over-the-Counter (OTC) Treatment Admissions: 2002

The DASIS Report: Characteristics of Primary Prescription and Over-the-Counter Treatment Admissions, 2002

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Highlights:

• Prescription drugs in SAMHSA's Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) are grouped as follows: prescription narcotics (e.g., oxycodone, pentazocine, and morphine), prescription stimulants (e.g., amphetamines and methylphenidate), tranquilizers (e.g., diazepam and meprobamate), and sedatives (e.g., chloral hydrate and secobarbital). Over the counter (OTC) drugs include aspirin, cough syrup, and any other medication available without prescription (e.g., sleep aids, diphenhydramine, and other antihistamines).

• Prescription and over the counter (OTC) drugs were the primary substances of abuse for 4% of the 1.9 million treatment admissions reported to SAMHSA's Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) in 2002.

• Of the more than 78,000 treatment admissions for primary prescription or OTC drug abuse in 2002, 55% were for prescription narcotics compared with 43% of the nearly 29,000 treatment admissions for primary prescription and OTC drug abuse in 1992. Prescription stimulants as the primary substance increased slightly from 26% to 28% during that period. In contrast, the proportions of total admissions for primary prescription or OTC drug abuse for most other prescription type drugs declined between 1992 and 2002. Tranquilizers declined from 16% to 10%. Sedatives declined from 13% to 6% and OTC medications declined from 2% to 1%.

• An additional 100,000 admissions in 2002 listed prescription or OTC drugs as their secondary or tertiary substances of abuse upon treatment admission.

• Females comprised a larger proportion of prescription and OTC drug admissions (46%) than they comprised among treatment admissions for all substances (30%) in 2002.

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This Short Report, The DASIS Report: Characteristics of Primary Prescription and Over-the-Counter Treatment Admissions, 2002 , is based on the Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS), the primary source of national data on substance abuse treatment.  DASIS is conducted by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS) in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).