Key findings

• Extra-medical or illicit use of pharmaceutical substances was examined among regular psychostimulant users (RPU) interviewed in 2015 for the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS; n=763)
• Illicit use of pharmaceutical substances is common among regular psychostimulant users and far higher than in the general Australian population
• Few of the RPU in 2015 cited pharmaceuticals as their drug of choice (5%) or the drug used most often in the last month (4%)
• The pharmaceutical substances most commonly used over the previous six months were stimulants, benzodiazepines and over the counter codeine preparations
• Pharmaceuticals were used less frequently than ecstasy: most use was monthly or less often
• Greater psychological distress was reported by those who had recently used stimulants, codeine, opioids and benzodiazepines
• Recent users of OTC codeine, opioids and antipsychotics were more likely to self-report a mental health problem

Resources

• EDRS April 2016_FINAL.pdf