Prescription Drug Misuse And Arrest History

Keywords

arrest; offending; opioids; Prescription drug misuse

Abstract

Background: Prescription drug misuse is widely acknowledged as a major public health issue in the United States. Surprisingly little research examines the association between prescription drug misuse and history of arrest among adults. Methods: We use data from the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to examine this association. Arrest was self-reported and separated into three categories: any, property crime, or violent crime. Prescription drug misuse was defined as use without a prescription or solely for the feeling or experience caused by the drug. We looked at the misuse of any prescription drug and also separate classes of misuse (pain relievers, sedatives, tranquilizers, and stimulants). Several multivariate logistic regression models were estimated to examine the association between prescription drug misuse and arrest. Results: Findings showed that 8.62% of respondents reported prescription drug misuse and 3.55% reported any arrest. In multivariate models that included demographic characteristics and measures of alcohol and other drug use, respondents who reported prescription drug misuse were at increased odds of arrest. Conclusions: The current research shows that prescription drug misuse is significantly associated with arrest, but more research is needed on the causal nature of this association. The criminal justice and drug treatment systems must develop treatment and rehabilitation services that understand the close association between prescription drug misuse and arrest.

Publication Date

11-10-2017

Publication Title

Substance Use and Misuse

Volume

52

Issue

13

Number of Pages

1772-1777

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2017.1311348

Socpus ID

85023760681 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85023760681

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