RT Book, Section A1 Ompad, Danielle C. A1 Sandh, Simon A2 Boulton, Matthew L. A2 Wallace, Robert B. SR Print(0) ID 1182669465 T1 Prescription Drug Use and Misuse T2 Maxcy-Rosenau-Last Public Health & Preventive Medicine, 16e YR 2022 FD 2022 PB McGraw Hill PP New York, NY SN 9781259644511 LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1182669465 RD 2024/03/28 AB In 2015, prescription psychotherapeutic drugs such as pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives were used by 119 million Americans aged 12 and older—representing 44.5% of the population.1 In the same year, approximately 18.9 million Americans (or 7.1% of the population) misused psychotherapeutic drugs; thus, a majority of people who used prescriptions drugs did not misuse them. Prescription pain relievers are the mostly commonly misused prescription drug (4.7%), followed by tranquilizers (2.3%), stimulants (2.0%), and sedatives (0.6%). For those who misuse prescription drugs, this misuse may result in substantial morbidity and mortality. In addition, prescription drug use and misuse may result in the disruption of social ties and engagement with the criminal justice system. Here we briefly review the pharmacology of different prescription drug classes, the epidemiology of prescription drug misuse as well as the medical consequences of misuse and evidence-based interventions for harm reduction and treatment.