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Substance Abuse Via Legally Prescribed Drugs: The Case Of Vicodin In The United States, Wendy K. Caldwell, Benjamin Freedman, Luke Settles, Michael M. Thomas, Anarina Murillo, Erika Camacho, Stephen Wirkus

Faculty and Research Publications

Vicodin is the most commonly prescribed pain reliever in the United States. Research indicates that there are two million people who are currently abusing Vicodin, and the majority of those who abuse Vicodin were initially exposed to it via prescription. Our goal is to determine the most effective strategies for reducing the overall population of Vicodin abusers. More specifically, we focus on whether prevention methods aimed at educating doctors and patients on the potential for drug abuse or treatment methods implemented after a person abuses Vicodin will have a greater overall impact. We consider one linear and two non-linear compartmental …