Percent of adults who ever used a prescription drug without a prescription
Current Value
9%
Definition
Story Behind the Curve
Prescription medication misuse is defined as the taking medications prescribed to another individual or in a manner or dose other than prescribed. It is not limited to taking medications to “get high”, but also includes using medications for legitimate health complaints such as pain . The Vermont Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) regularly includes questions on prescription drug misuse among Vermont adults. This allows us to track misuse overtime and among sub‐groups. Note: the survey asks about prescription drug misuse in general, and does not specify the type of prescription drug misused.