Narcotics: top recreational drug

Clinical Psychiatry News, August, 2006 by Joyce Frieden

More people started using narcotic pain relievers for nonmedical purposes in the past year than marijuana or cocaine, according to a new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. According to the report, 2.4 million people 12 years old and older started using narcotics in the year before the survey, compared with 2.1 million who started using marijuana and 1 million who started using cocaine.

Of those who used pain relievers, 48% used Vicodin, Lortab, or Lorcet; 34% used Darvocet, Darvon, or Tylenol with codeine; and 20% used Percocet, Percodan, or Tylox. OxyContin was near the bottom at 8%. "The initiation rates show we must continue our efforts to help the public confront and reduce all drug abuse," SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie said in a statement. Data for the report came from the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.