1997 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse

Introduction

Psychotherapeutic drugs, as defined here, include prescription-type (as opposed to over-the-counter) stimulants (including methamphetamines), sedatives, tranquilizers, and analgesics. Stimulants such as Dexedrine and Preludin are often called "uppers" or "speed." Sedatives such as Seconal, Quaaludes, and other "sleeping pills" are sometimes called "downers." Tranquilizers include anxiety-reducing drugs, such as Valium, Klonopin, and Xanax. Analgesics include prescription painkillers, such as Darvon, Demerol, Percodan, and Tylenol (or any medication) with codeine. All of these types of drugs are prescribed for specific and legitimate medical reasons, but virtually all of these drugs also are classified as controlled substances because of their potential for abuse. The focus of the NHSDA is on nonmedical use of such psychotherapeutic drugs, which was defined for respondents as the use of any psychotherapeutic "when it was not prescribed for you, or only for the experience or feeling it caused."

In 1997, approximately 9% of the U.S. household population aged 12 or older (about 19.7 million persons) had ever used at least one psychotherapeutic drug for nonmedical reasons at least once (see Table 2.1, as well as OAS, 1998b, Table 8A). A little less than 3% of the population (about 6.1 million persons) had used a psychotherapeutic drug nonmedically within the past year, and a little more than 1% (about 2.7 million persons) had done so in the past month (OAS, 1998b, Table 8A). The percentage of persons reporting past year nonmedical use of a psychotherapeutic drug was much higher than the percentage reporting use of heroin (0.3%), but much lower than the percentage reporting use of marijuana (9.0% in the past year). The percentage of persons in the total population reporting nonmedical psychotherapeutic drug use in 1997 was generally not statistically different from that reporting use in 1996. This was true for rates of use of any psychotherapeutic drug, as well as for specific psychotherapeutic drugs, in all time frames.

This page was last updated on June 16, 2008.

SAMHSA, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal Government's lead agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health services in the United States.