NIDA Notes Articles: Prescription Drugs

Thoughts of Suicide May Persist Among Nonmedical Prescription Opiate Users

March 2013

People who use prescription opiates nonmedically are more likely to consider suicide than those who use these medications only appropriately or not at all. A recent NIDA-supported study also disclosed that the risk for suicidal thoughts remains elevated after cessation of use.

Q&A: Dr. David Thomas

November 2012

NIDA Program Officer Dr. David Thomas speaks about the intertwined problems of pain and prescription opioid abuse, as well as the research supported by NIDA and the National Institutes of Health to address these problems.

Elevated Rates of Drug Abuse Continue for Second Year

June 2012
Illicit drug use in the United States in 2010 was at its highest level since 2002, according to the most recent report from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. A rise in marijuana use drove the increase. A favorable trend of falling cocaine use continued.

Drug Abuse at Highest Level in Nearly a Decade

December 2010
Reports on 2009 data indicating a rise in drug abuse in the United States and the factors that may have contributed to this increase.