Prescription drug (also prescription medication or prescription medicine) is a pharmaceutical drug that legally requires a medical prescription to be dispensed. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs can be obtained without a prescription. The reason for this difference in substance control is the potential scope of misuse, from drug abuse to practicing medicine without a license and without sufficient education. Different jurisdictions have different definitions of what constitutes a prescription drug.
Misuse of prescription drugs means taking a medication in a manner or dose other than prescribed; taking someone else’s prescription, even if for a legitimate medical complaint such as pain; or taking a medication to feel euphoria (i.e., to get high).* The term nonmedical use of prescription drugs also refers to these categories of misuse. The three classes of medication most commonly misused are
- Opioids—usually prescribed to treat pain
- Central Nervous System [CNS] Depressants (this category includes tranquilizers, sedatives, and hypnotics)—used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders
- Stimulants—most often prescribed to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Prescription drug misuse can have serious medical consequences. Increases in prescription drug misuseover the last 15 years are reflected in increased emergency room visits, overdose deaths associated with prescription drugs, and treatment admissions for prescription drug use disorders, the most severe form of which is addiction. Among those who reported past-year nonmedical use of a prescription drug, nearly 12 percent met criteria for prescription drug use disorder. Unintentional overdose deaths involving opioid pain relievers have more than quadrupled since 1999 and have outnumbered those involving heroin and cocaine since 2002.