What is Medication Abuse and Diversion?
We’ve seen ADHD awareness increase steadily over the past ten years, but nothing has compared to the level of attention ADHD has gained since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This increase in ADHD awareness and treatment options for adults with ADHD is good for those who actually need treatment, but this also means there’s increased potential for abuse and diversion.
When properly prescribed and administered, medications approved for the treatment of ADHD have been shown to be highly safe and effective. However, the medications used to treat ADHD, like any medication, can be abused.
What is drug abuse
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) defines prescription drug abuse in the following way:
Taking a prescription medication that is not prescribed for you
Taking a prescription medication for reasons or in dosages other than prescribed
Adults who take prescription medications are responsible for taking them as prescribed. Most ADHD medications are stimulants and categorized by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as Schedule II Medications. This means that any improper use of them―including providing them to someone without a prescription or taking them without a prescription―is a federal crime.
What is medication diversion
Another way in which prescribed medications can be abused is known as diversion. Diversion can range from giving a friend a single one of your stimulant pills, to selling one’s prescribed pills to others. Drug diversion has serious personal, legal, and financial consequences, and Millennium Medical Associates will terminate any patient from the practice who is caught engaging in such illegal activity, as it will violate the Controlled Substance Agreement signed upon becoming a patient at our practice.
It is illegal to share your ADHD medication with household members, family, or friends, even if they have the same or similar symptoms or prescription as you. ADHD prescription medications are controlled substances to be used by and only by the patient receiving treatment, identified on the prescription bottle. Any patient found to be violating the law will be terminated as a patient.
What you need to know and do:
Know that your ADHD meds are a controlled substance. Possession of these medications without a prescription is illegal.
Safeguard your medication from theft. It is an important tool to manage your ADHD symptoms and it should be there when you need it.
“A gift is a sale.” In the eyes of the law, giving a controlled substance to someone who does not have the legal or medical authority to possess it is the same as selling it.
Don’t share your medication with others. Giving controlled substances to your friends is not only illegal, but can cause them harm if they are not being supervised by a medical professional.
Follow your medication plan. Changing your plan without consulting your doctor can have medical consequences and can create a surplus of pills that can lead to trouble. If you don’t feel that you need to take your meds on the schedule prescribed, please discuss this with your provider during your next follow-up.
IMPORTANT: Millennium Medical Associates is committed to protecting our patients and the public from substance abuse, as well as protecting those who gain access to your medication. If you ever have any issue with any type of addiction, please reach out to your provider directly so we can refer you to the appropriate care to help you.
Have more questions or want to speak to your provider? Please text your patient liaison.
Substance Abuse Hotline: 1-800-662-4357
Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
Emergency: Always dial 911