A national sample of US adults who have used prescribed opioids in the last year reveals that 20% have shared them with family or friends, a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine has found.
More than 50% of patients with prescribed opioids have leftover tablets, and many save them to share or use later, said researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
“These painkillers are much riskier than has been understood, and the volume of prescribing and use has contributed to an opioid epidemic in this country,” says study leader Alene Kennedy-Hendricks, PhD, from the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Bloomberg School.
20% of Prescribed Opioid Users Share Drugs
