The relationship between source of diversion and prescription drug misuse, abuse, and dependence.

The current research examines the relationship between how people obtain prescription drugs (source of diversion) and how people misuse prescription drugs (i.e., frequency, abuse, and dependence). We analyzed data from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health public use file, a sample of 68,736 persons aged 12 and older that is generalizable to the noninstitutionalized population of the United States. A number of regression models were estimated, and findings indicate that source of diversion was significantly correlated to frequency of prescription drug misuse, abuse, and dependence. Given these findings, we believe any attempt to classify prescription drug misusers based on certain characteristics should include source of diversion.