CAHSS Faculty Articles
Multiple Determinants of Specific Modes of Prescription Opioid Diversion
ORCID ID
0000-0002-4716-3398, 0000-0003-4027-7840, 0000-0002-1626-0881
ResearcherID
H-3010-2014, K-3072-2014
Publication Title
Journal of Drug Issues
ISSN
1945-1369
Publication Date
4-1-2011
Abstract
Numerous national surveys and surveillance programs have shown a substantial rise in the abuse of prescription opioids over the past 15 years. Accessibility of these drugs to non-patients is the result of their unlawful channeling from legal sources to the illicit marketplace (diversion). Empirical data on diversion remain absent from the literature. This paper examines abusers' sources of diverted drugs from two large studies: 1) a national sample of opioid treatment clients (N=1983), and 2) a South Florida study targeting diverse populations of opioid abusers (N=782). The most common sources of diverted medications were dealers, sharing/trading, legitimate medical practice (e.g., unknowing medical providers), illegitimate medical practice (e.g., pill mills), and theft, in that order. Sources varied by users' age, gender, ethnicity, risk-aversiveness, primary opioid of abuse, injection drug use, physical health, drug dependence, and either access to health insurance or relative financial wealth. Implications for prescription drug control policy are discussed.
DOI
10.1177/002204261104100207
Volume
41
Issue
2
First Page
283
Last Page
304
NSUWorks Citation
Cicero, T. J., Kurtz, S. P., Surratt, H. L., Ibanez, G. E., Ellis, M., Levi-Minzi, M. A., & Inciardi, J. A. (2011). Multiple Determinants of Specific Modes of Prescription Opioid Diversion. Journal of Drug Issues, 41 (2), 283-304. https://doi.org/10.1177/002204261104100207