Poll: One in 10 Americans Have Taken Drugs Prescribed for Someone Else

A quarter of those using drugs they are not prescribed are using them to get high

(Reuters)—Kurt is a 32-year-old IT systems administrator from Des Moines, Iowa. He has a colleague who had been prescribed "ridiculous amounts" of Vicodin for a chronic back problem.

His colleague offered him some of the pills. Soon Kurt was taking them three to four times a week to get high and relax.

"I had been prescribed Vicodin before so I knew the effects," he said. "I would come home, take a couple and pour myself a drink, to help me unwind."