Prescription drug abuse is the use of prescription medication in a way not intended by the prescriber, including snorting or injecting ground-up pills to “get high”. The nonmedical use and abuse of prescription drugs is a serious public health problem, involving millions of people worldwide. The consequences of this abuse range from an increase in treatment and emergency room admissions, to a rise in addiction and overdose deaths. The prescription drugs most often abused include opioid painkillers, anti-anxiety medications, sedatives, and stimulants. The great availability of drugs, the easier way to obtain them in comparison to illegal drugs and the possibility to avoid controls might explain the spreading of prescription drug misuse and abuse in particular settings such as prisons and rehabilitation centers for addictive disorders.
The objective of the Research Topic is to investigate the prevalence, the trends, and the consequences of prescription drug abuse with particular attention devoted to peculiar settings such as prisons and rehab centers. In particular, the aims are to understand which substances are the most used in these sub-populations, what reasons and desired effects drive the consumption of prescription drugs, through which channels the drugs are obtained, what are the effects on behavior, which are the relationships with previous dependencies and psychiatric disorders. The purpose is also to collect strategies to avoid this phenomenon and mitigate the abuse or addiction risk.
We welcome original research, review articles, and case reports on, but are not limited to:
• Trends and prevalence of misuse and abuse of prescription drugs in the sub-populations of people in prison and of patients with a history of dependence who are treated in rehabilitation centers
• Behavioral effects, intoxication cases, and deaths due to misuse/abuse of prescription drugs
• Relationship between psychiatric disorders and the phenomenon of misuse/abuse of prescription drugs
• Strategies to combat misuse/abuse and addiction of prescription drugs
Prescription drug abuse is the use of prescription medication in a way not intended by the prescriber, including snorting or injecting ground-up pills to “get high”. The nonmedical use and abuse of prescription drugs is a serious public health problem, involving millions of people worldwide. The consequences of this abuse range from an increase in treatment and emergency room admissions, to a rise in addiction and overdose deaths. The prescription drugs most often abused include opioid painkillers, anti-anxiety medications, sedatives, and stimulants. The great availability of drugs, the easier way to obtain them in comparison to illegal drugs and the possibility to avoid controls might explain the spreading of prescription drug misuse and abuse in particular settings such as prisons and rehabilitation centers for addictive disorders.
The objective of the Research Topic is to investigate the prevalence, the trends, and the consequences of prescription drug abuse with particular attention devoted to peculiar settings such as prisons and rehab centers. In particular, the aims are to understand which substances are the most used in these sub-populations, what reasons and desired effects drive the consumption of prescription drugs, through which channels the drugs are obtained, what are the effects on behavior, which are the relationships with previous dependencies and psychiatric disorders. The purpose is also to collect strategies to avoid this phenomenon and mitigate the abuse or addiction risk.
We welcome original research, review articles, and case reports on, but are not limited to:
• Trends and prevalence of misuse and abuse of prescription drugs in the sub-populations of people in prison and of patients with a history of dependence who are treated in rehabilitation centers
• Behavioral effects, intoxication cases, and deaths due to misuse/abuse of prescription drugs
• Relationship between psychiatric disorders and the phenomenon of misuse/abuse of prescription drugs
• Strategies to combat misuse/abuse and addiction of prescription drugs
