The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released its 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment, which highlights national trends on threats posed by illicit drugs, including sections on the misuse of controlled prescription drugs (CPDs).

The most common source of CPD misuse was a prescription from a single doctor or theft from healthcare providers. This marks the first time in three years that prescriptions were a more common source than friends or family members. Other key highlights in the report include:

• The most misused CPDs are hydrocodone, oxycodone, and amphetamine products
• CPD misuse declined after 2020 but has remained steady over the past three years
• In 2023, an estimated 14.4 million Americans misused prescription drugs—slightly more than in 2022 and 2021

The DEA also reported a rise in fraudulent electronic prescriptions between 2023 and 2024. The most frequently involved drugs were oxycodone (Schedule II) and promethazine with codeine (Schedule V). Investigators uncovered more than 25,000 fraudulent prescriptions for promethazine with codeine across multiple states, including Arizona, Indiana, South Carolina, and Texas.

The DEA’s findings highlight ongoing concerns about the misuse and diversion of prescription pain medications, many of which are commonly used in workers’ comp. Understanding how injured workers may access these drugs is critical for maintaining appropriate care, preventing abuse, and managing claim costs.