Many Combat Vets Use Prescription Narcotics
“The rate of narcotic prescription use among U.S. troops coming out of combat is more than three times the rate for civilians and more than 44% of service members complain of chronic pain lasting longer than three months,” USA Today reports.
“The report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s Internal Medicine, provides a snapshot of how prevalent pain and narcotic use are among those who go to war.”
“The research was based on a survey of soldiers in an Army brigade three months after returning from Afghanistan in 2011. More than 45% said they had been injured in combat. About 15% said they had used opioid pain relievers in the month prior to the survey, and the vast majority complained of continuing pain. About one in five said it was severe.”