Prescription Drug Misuse Among Club Drug-Using Young Adults

Abstract

Nonmedical prescription (Rx) drug use has recently increased, particularly among young adults. Using time-space sampling to generate a probability-based sample of club-going young adults (18-29), 400 subjects provided data on Rx drug misuse. Club-going young adults misuse Rx drugs at high rates. An overwhelming majority of the sample indicated lifetime use of pain killers, sedatives, and stimulants. A majority indicated recent pain killer use. Variations by gender and sexuality exist in this population. Young lesbian/bisexual women emerged as the group most likely to abuse Rx drugs. Research into the contexts influencing these patterns is imperative.

Keywords:

• Gender
• prescription drugs
• sexual orientation
• youth