To Z Resources Harvard Commentaries Informed opinions from the experts at Harvard Medical School. An estimated four million people aged 12 or over used sedatives, stimulants, tranquilizers or opioids for non-medical reasons in 1999. Recent reports from NIDA highlight what has been known for many years.
Prescription drugs can be and are being used incorrectly.
The fact that many prescription drugs have liabilities should come as no surprise. That is, in fact, the reason why these drugs are not available to the general public. It takes a skilled clinician with expertise and experience to use these drugs most effectively. Appropriate drug use requires diagnostic skills to determine the exact nature of the disorder, a keen understanding of the pathophysiology of the disorder and, finally, a working knowledge of the available drugs and their inherent liabilities. The problem may in fact be much larger.