The Conversation
Family and Friends, not Doctors, Are Most Common Route to Opioid Addiction
It has been widely known that abuse of prescription opioids often is the start of addiction, which can lead to the use of heroin or fentanyl. However, a new study disputes the notion that the most common gateway to addiction is a doctor's prescription for a patient.
According to researchers at Penn State and other universities, the most common introduction to opioids is from a family member, friend or other trusted person. These findings, titled "Opioid misuse initiation: Implications for intervention," were published this week in the Journal of Addictive Diseases.
"I think our findings contrast with the popular media narrative that's out there right now and the public perception," Khary Rigg, an assistant professor at the University of South Florida and co-author of the study, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "When you talk to the average person on the street, they think it's all about big pharma and that doctors are overprescribing. Our findings show that the two top common sources for getting opioids are friends or family."
The study found that approximately one-third of addicts were personally prescribed opioids following a surgery, tooth extraction or another medical event. But the majority obtained their first pill from a family or friend, usually as a gift. A smaller number stole their first pills or paid the family member or friend.
The findings also underscore the importance of Drug Take Back Days where people can safely and securely dispose of their unused or expired opioids in their medicine cabinet. Last month, several Giant Eagle locations started offering permanent Take Back Boxes.
If you're looking for a location to safely discard unused prescription drugs, you can click here.
