Key takeaway
Misuse means a dose or method other than prescribed, someone else's medicine, or taking it to get high. The classes named most often are opioids, sedatives, and stimulants. Dependence is not the same word as addiction. Do not stop a sedative on your own. Show a clinician every bottle, including alcohol.
Last updated: Mon Oct 05 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
You are taking a medicine in a way that no longer matches the label, or you are about to stop it so you can walk in with a clean result. Do not stop a sedative on your own. Show a clinician every bottle, including someone else's, and include alcohol. Misuse is a description of how a medicine was taken. It is not a taper you can copy from a stranger.
If a seizure, chest pain, collapse, or slowed breathing has already started, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
What the word covers
Opioids in this group include hydrocodone, oxycodone, oxymorphone, morphine, codeine, and fentanyl. They can produce euphoria, which is part of why a substance use disorder is possible even when a medicine is taken as prescribed. They also act on parts of the brain stem that control breathing. Too much can slow or stop breathing. Naloxone can reverse an opioid overdose if it is given quickly. How that medicine fits an emergency is in overdose signs and naloxone. Naloxone does not treat addiction, and it does not restart breathing that stopped from a benzodiazepine or alcohol alone.
Short-term opioid use, such as a few days after oral surgery, rarely leads to opioid use disorder when it is managed properly. Regular use, several times a day for several weeks or more, can lead to dependence, tolerance, and in some cases addiction. What treatment of that disorder looks like, and why detox alone is not the plan, is in prescription opioid addiction.
Sedatives are the class people try to quit in a bedroom. Examples include benzodiazepines such as diazepam, clonazepam, and alprazolam; the sleep medicines zolpidem, eszopiclone, and zaleplon; and barbiturates, used less often for anxiety or sleep because the overdose risk is higher. Most of these drugs increase GABA, which is how they produce drowsiness or calm. Medical detox for benzodiazepines is in benzodiazepine withdrawal. Barbiturates are in barbiturate withdrawal.
Stimulants such as dextroamphetamine and methylphenidate increase alertness, attention, and energy, and they raise blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing. They are prescribed for ADHD, narcolepsy, and occasionally depression that has not responded to other treatment. High doses can raise body temperature to a dangerous level, make the heartbeat irregular, and lead to cardiovascular failure or seizures. Withdrawal can include fatigue, depression, and disturbed sleep. That crash is in stimulant withdrawal. A study aid is not a diagnosis of ADHD. Questions about prescribed stimulant treatment and recovery are in recovery and ADHD.
Dependence is not a grade
Dependence is the body's adaptation to ongoing exposure. It often travels with addiction, and it is not the same thing. Addiction involves other changes in brain circuitry and is marked by compulsive seeking and use despite harm. Tolerance means needing a higher dose for the same effect. When tolerance shows up, a physician can have trouble telling a developing drug problem from a medical need for a higher dose. That is a reason to be screened. It is not a reason to raise the dose and see what happens.
Stopping, and what treatment can include
People addicted to tranquilizers, sedatives, or hypnotics should not try to stop on their own. Withdrawal can be severe and, for certain of these medicines, potentially life-threatening. The dose should be tapered gradually under medical supervision. There are no FDA-approved medicines for addiction to these depressants. Cognitive-behavioral therapy has been used to help people adapt to stopping benzodiazepines. Misuse often occurs with alcohol or opioids, and treatment then has to address each problem. That overlap is in polysubstance use. How cognitive-behavioral therapy is used more broadly is in CBT for addiction.
For prescription stimulants, treatment is based on behavioral therapies used for cocaine and methamphetamine addiction. There are no FDA-approved medicines for stimulant addiction. A first step, depending on the person, may be to taper the dose and ease withdrawal. That taper is a clinical decision.
For prescription opioids, effective treatment can include detoxification, counseling, and medications when they exist, and more than one course of treatment may be needed. The medicines named are buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone. Lofexidine reduces withdrawal symptoms and is not treatment of the disorder by itself. In people with addiction, the opioid medicines prevent withdrawal and craving rather than producing a high. The longer explanation is in medication for addiction. Ask the prescriber what is available now. Do not borrow an old patient cap from a report and treat it as this year's rule.
Medicines sold without a prescription are a second shelf, in over-the-counter misuse. If gabapentin or pregabalin is in the same day as an opioid, the breathing warning is in gabapentinoids and opioids.
Search FindTreatment.gov for care that can monitor a taper. Call or text (800) 653-9376 if you want help finding that care. Bring the bottles.
Additional Resources
Sources cited on this page:
- NIDA: Misuse of Prescription Drugs Research Report, overview
- NIDA: What classes of prescription drugs are commonly misused?
- NIDA: How can prescription drug addiction be treated?
- SAMHSA FindTreatment.gov
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Common Questions
Does taking a medicine exactly as prescribed still count as misuse?
No. Misuse is a dose or method other than prescribed, someone else's prescription, or taking the medicine to get high. Nonmedical use points at those same categories. Taking a medicine as prescribed can still lead to dependence, and with opioids it can still lead to a substance use disorder. That is a different fact from the misuse definition. Do not stop a medicine to test which label fits.
Are dependence and addiction the same thing?
No. Dependence is the body's adaptation to ongoing exposure. Stopping or cutting the dose can bring withdrawal. Addiction adds compulsive seeking and use despite harm, with other changes in brain circuits. Tolerance, needing more for the same effect, often travels with dependence. A clinician has to sort a higher dose that is still medical care from a problem that needs treatment.
Can I stop a sedative or a stimulant on my own if I want to be careful?
Do not stop a central nervous system depressant on your own. Withdrawal from these medicines can be severe and, for some of them, potentially life-threatening, and the dose should come down with medical supervision. There are no FDA-approved medicines to treat addiction to these depressants. Stimulant withdrawal can include fatigue, depression, and disturbed sleep. Call 911 for a seizure, chest pain, or trouble breathing.
Are there medicines for prescription opioid addiction?
Yes. Methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone are used, often with counseling. Lofexidine can ease withdrawal symptoms and is not itself treatment of the disorder. Methadone for this disorder is generally available through licensed opioid treatment programs. Ask the prescriber what is available now. Do not copy an old office-prescribing cap from a report onto this year's rules.
Why mention every medicine if only one feels like the problem?
Depressant misuse often happens together with alcohol or opioids, and treatment then has to address each problem. A plan aimed at one bottle can miss the drug that slows breathing. Tell the clinician every prescription, every medicine sold without a prescription, and alcohol. Do not shorten the list because one name is the one you worry about.