Compared to Distribution

an indicator guage with the arrow in the green the value is in the best half of communities.

an indicator guage with the arrow in the yellow the value is in the 2nd worst quarter of communities.

an indicator guage with the arrow in the red the value is in the worst quarter of communities.

Compared to Target

green circle with white tick inside it meets target; red circle with white cross inside it does not meet target.

Compared to a Single Value

green diamond with downward arrow inside it lower than the comparison value; red diamond with downward arrow inside it higher than the comparison value; blue diamond with downward arrow inside it not statistically different from comparison value.

Trend

green square outline with upward trending arrow inside it green square outline with downward trending arrow inside it non-significant change over time; green square with upward trending arrow inside it green square with downward trending arrow inside it significant change over time; blue square with equals sign no change over time.

Compared to Prior Value

green triangle with upward trending arrow inside it higher than the previous measurement period; green triangle with downward trending arrow inside it lower than the previous measurement period; blue equals sign no statistically different change from previous measurement period.

green chart bars Significantly better than the overall value

red chart bars Significantly worse than the overall value

light blue chart bars No significant difference with the overall value

gray chart bars No data on significance available

Nonmedical Use of Prescription Pain Relievers

Measurement Period: 2021

This indicator shows the percentage of persons aged 12 years and older who report nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers in the past year.

Why is this important?

Prescription drug abuse is the use of a prescription medication in a way not intended by the doctor, including taking medicine that was prescribed to someone else. Commonly abused prescription drugs include pain killers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives. Prescription drug abuse is dangerous because every medicine has some risk of side effects and taking high doses increases this risk. Additionally, the drugs may result in a bad reaction due to other medications being taken. Abusing prescription drugs can also lead to addiction. Prescription drug abuse is on the rise in the United States; approximately 20% of the US population aged 12 years and older has used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons in their lifetime.

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