The Dangers Of Sharing Prescription Medications

"No prescription? Have some of mine!" is a surprisingly common conversation between friends and family members in the USA. A study by the US Centers for Disease Control found that 27% of men and 29% of men either gave or received prescription medications from others, and 37% of women aged 18 to 44 engaged in prescription sharing.

In the United States, even after the advent of Obamacare, many people simply can't afford prescription drugs. 

Even people who have insurance may have to pay the first $100, $500, $1000 or more of their annual prescription medication cost, plus a copay of $5 to $150 for all but the cheapest generic prescription medications.

The United States is hardly the only country in the world where the pharmacy bill can be a major hit on the family budget. One survey found that 10% of Canadians didn't get prescribed drugs because of financial barriers. In many countries in Eastern Europe, getting some prescription drugs can be a major financial challenge. And throughout much of Latin America, Africa, and Asia, many modern drugs are simply of reach.

What kinds of drugs are most often shared?

• In the USA, younger people are most likely to share antihistamines and pain killers. Older people are most likely to share drugs for diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease.
• In Latin America, Asia, and Africa, people are most likely to share antibiotics.
• In Europe, people are most likely to share psychoactive drugs.
• And in schools around the world, students who have prescriptions for "study drugs," usually the medications used to treat ADHD, are pressured by their peers to share, especially around exam time. Some teenagers become "Adderall entrepreneurs," peddling their prescriptions for $2 to $20 per pill.

Drugs for high blood pressure and diabetes have to be taken on a regular basis to be effective. Failing to take beta-blockers for hypertension, for example, can result in rebound hypertension in which high blood pressure goes even higher than before it was treated. Not taking all the antibiotics you are prescribed can kill all but the most virulent bacteria, which multiply and come back as an even worse infection,, releasing resistant bacteria into your environment. And the pills you take for energy can cause a crash when you come off them.

See Also: The Dangers Of Prescription Drugs

And when are drugs most likely to be shared?

• In the US and in some provinces of Canada, as well in many other countries that don't have national health insurance systems, many people are responsible for 100% of the cost of their medications until they have spent $250 to as much as $5000 in a single calendar year. When people have to pay 100% of the cost of their medications, they are less likely to buy them.
• When people don't have any insurance at all, not surprisingly, many do not buy the medications their doctors prescribe for them.

What To Do When You Just Can't Pay For A Prescription

It's just not a good idea to use someone else's prescription. It's likely to be against the law, and in rare instances, a friend who decides you aren't a friend any more might even turn you in (although not without serious risk of also being charged).

Even if you are feeling good, and even if you don't suffer a relapse of the infection, your body could be hosting resistant bacteria that find their way back into the general population can cause illnesses that are harder to treat.

And it's not a good idea for someone else to have to have high blood pressure, or high blood sugars, or untreated pain so you can use their pills. 

But there are things you can do that may make it possible for you to get your own medications.

• Ask your doctor to prescribe the generic form of the medication you need. Generics are almost less expensive than brand name medications. Many states in the United States require pharmacists to dispense the less expensive generic form of a brand name prescription ordered by the doctor unless the doctor specifically writes "No substitutions."
• Shop around for the best deal on generics. Some pharmacies offer several hundred medications for $5 a month or less. Ask your doctor to prescribe those medications.
• Investigate patient assistance programs. In the United States, many drug companies will make certain products available for just $30 to $50 a month or even for free for people who can show that their income is below certain cutoffs. Typically medications are available for free for single people who earn $35,000 per year or less and for married couples or families that have an income of $70,000 per year or less. Pharmaceutical companies are not obligated to have patient assistance programs, however, and the programs are not available in every country where the medication is sold. In the US, medications made by Astra-Zeneca, linked below, are often available free or at reduced cost, and Astra-Zeneca products are designed to be compatible with each other.
• Local (city and county) health departments often make vaccinations available for free, sometimes for all comers, and sometimes for people who receive other forms of government assistance.

Patients assistance programs don't do a good job of covering syringes, test strips of various kinds, and lancets.

See Also: Side effects of prescription stimulants

Fortunately, discounted versions of these products are available at some of the "big box" stores, and pharmacy chains like Walgreen's are sometimes willing to dispense them without a copay if you have any health insurance at all. 

The damage to your health may be a lot greater than the small savings you gain by sharing prescription medications. Always use your own prescriptions, and share information, or money, rather than the drugs themselves.