USA: NARCOTIC PAIN MEDS BECOME DRUG OF CHOICE / ANTIDOLORIFICI: PRIMI PER CONSUMO IN USA FRA LE NUOVE DROGHE

La sostanza di tendenza in USA? I farmaci antidolorifici.

Sarebbero infatti 2,4 milioni i nuovi assuntori di narcotici antidolorifici non a fine medico in USA e, fra questi, le donne supererebbero il 50%. Contro 2,1 milioni di nuovi consumatori di marijuana e 1 milione di nuovi cocainomani.

Lo rivela in questi giorni il SAMHSA con una rielaborazione dei dati del National Survey on Drug Use and Health del 2004.

L'analisi è prelevabile a questo link: Nonmedical Users of Pain Relievers: Characteristics of Recent Initiates (pdf).

More Americans began using narcotic pain medications for recreational use last year than any other drug besides alcohol, including marijuana and cocaine, according to The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

SAMHSA released a new analysis of the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showing that 2.4 million Americans ages 12 and older began nonmedical use of narcotic pain drugs in the year prior to the survey. That compares to 2.1 new users of marijuana and 1 million new cocaine users.

Researchers found that of the new users of narcotic pain medications, 48 percent used Vicodin, Lortab or Lorcet, 34.4 percent used Darvocet, Darvon, or Tylenol with codeine, 20 percent used Percocet, Percodan, or Tylox, 18.4 percent used generic hydrocodone, 8.4 percent used Oxycontin, and 4.3 percent used morphine. Most new recreational users of narcotic pain medications had previously used other illicit drugs; more than half of new nonmedical users were women.

To download SAMHSA report (pdf): Nonmedical Users of Pain Relievers: Characteristics of Recent Initiates.

Marco Mozzoni