Where do drug abusers get their prescription pain killers? From family

Where do prescription drug abusers get their drugs? The internet? No. On the street? Sometimes. From the family medicine cabinet and from friends? Usually.

Reuters Health Day  reported on February 9, 2007 on a couple of recent studies which have been done.

"About 60 percent are getting their drugs from friends and family for free, while another 15 percent go and buy them from friends," Clark said in reference to numbers from SAMHSA's 2005 national survey of drug use, which also confirmed that opioid analgesic use is on the rise among teens. "So, in the case of a general population, drug dealers aren't the biggest problem either, although it's certainly no surprise that hard-core addicts are getting it that way," he said.

Link: MedlinePlus: Dealers, Family Biggest Sources of Illegal Prescription Painkillers.