Prescription drugs are legally prescribed by doctors to treat medical conditions, and thus may be considered by some people as safe to use or to use more than the recommended dose, even if it is to get high. However, prescription medications, when not taken as prescribed, can be very harmful.
In LAC, 29.7% of individuals aged 12 or older believed that it is safer to use prescription medication to get high than illegal streets, and 16.8% believed that it is okay to take more than the doctor recommended dosage of prescription medication (Figure 1).
In 2017, 16.8% of LAC residents agreed or strongly agreed that it is okay to take more than the recommended dosage if they were feeling more pain than usual. Individuals who had ever misused prescription medication were more likely than non-users to believe it is okay to take more than the recommended dosage (Figure 2).
Males were more likely than females to believe that it is OK to take more than the recommended dosage of prescription medication if they were feeling more pain than usual. (Figure 3).
In general, younger individuals were increasingly more likely to believe that it is OK to take more than the recommended dosage of prescription medication than older individuals (Figure 4).
Multi-race/ethnic misusers were most likely to believe it is OK to take more than the recommended dosage of prescription medication, while white non-users were the least likely (Figure 5).
A large proportion of people do not perceive prescription misuse to be a great risk in LAC, though more people believe it is a great risk for youth than they do for adults.
Less than half (45%) of LAC residents believed adults greatly risked harming themselves if they occasionally (about once a month) misuse prescription medications (Figure 6).
More than half (54.5%) of LAC residents believed youth greatly risked harming themselves if they occasionally misuse prescription medications (Figure 6).
Those who have ever misused prescription medications (i.e. users) were less likely to perceive occasional prescription medication misuse as a great risk to both youth and adults compared to non-misusers (Figures 7-8).
Females were more likely than males to perceive a great risk of harm from misusing prescription medication to both adults and youth (Figures 9-10).
Perception of great risk of harm from misusing prescription medication increased with age (Figures 11-12).
Black non-users were the most likely to perceive great risk of harm to adults, and Asian non-users were the most likely to perceive great risk of harm to youth from misusing prescription medication.
Asian users were the least likely to perceive great risk of harm to both adults and youth from misusing prescription medication (Figures 13-14).
Prescription drugs are commonly perceived to be widely available and easily accessible. Nearly half (47.1%) of individuals in LAC believed it is easy or very easy for someone to get prescription medication on the street around their neighborhood (Figure 15).
Those who have ever misused prescription medications were more likely to perceive easy access to prescription medications (Figure 16).
Males and females had similar perceptions of easy access to prescription medications (Figure 17).
Youth and older adults aged 55+ were less likely to perceive easy access to prescription medications compared to adults aged 18-54 (Figure 18).
Black users were most likely to perceive easy access to prescription medications, while Asian non-users were the least likely (Figure 19).
Figures 1-19. Prescription Medication Misuse and Public Perceptions in Los Angeles County: Findings from the 2017 Community Needs Assessment. Health Outcomes and Data Analytics, Substance Abuse Prevention and Control, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, March 2019.