Used as prescribed and directed, medicine improves lives. When misused, however, the consequences can be devastating.

Medicine is considered misused when it is taken by someone for whom it was not prescribed or intended. Misuse also applies when it is taken in a dose, for a time or for reasons outside of its original prescription. If not used as intended, it is particularly dangerous for those medicines that can affect the brain in ways similar to substances like alcohol, cocaine or heroin.

While some people misuse certain types of medicine to “get high,” many are simply trying to cope or manage the stress in their lives. Prescription stimulants, pain relievers, sedatives and tranquilizers, and even over-the-counter cough medicine are commonly misused or abused for these reasons. And people who do so may fail to recognize that misuse of these medications can have negative, rather than positive, effects on their health and well-being. In fact, it can lead to addiction.