ArticleJournal of addiction medicine2026
Characterizing the Relationship Between Nonmedical Use of Gabapentin and Gabapentin Prescribing Among Individuals With Opioid Use Disorder.
Article in Journal of addiction medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesPersons with opioid use disorder (OUD) are at elevated risk for engaging in the nonmedical use (NMU) of gabapentin. Despite the increased risk of respiratory depression from concomitant use of gabapentin and opioids, gabapentin is often prescribed in OUD treatment settings. This study examines the relationship between gabapentin prescribing histories and the initiation, patterns, and motivations of gabapentin NMU.
methodsTwenty-one OUD treatment centers recruited 181 adults in 23 states reporting either past 12-month gabapentin NMU (n=150) or use only as prescribed (N=31). Cross-sectional interviews assessed demographics, substance use history/patterns, and gabapentin prescribing histories.
resultsMost NMU participants had a prior prescription for gabapentin (72.1%), with 45.3% having a current prescription; 27.7% had no prescription history. Diversion of gabapentin was highly prevalent for obtaining (sharing/trading=50.0%; dealer/street purchase=44.0%) and distributing gabapentin (45.3% diverted to others). Those with gabapentin NMU had higher gabapentin, but not opioid, craving scores compared with those with use as prescribed (3.8 vs. 2.2, P<0.001). Both therapeutic (84.7%) and recreational motivations (74.7%) were widely endorsed and involved high average doses (2061 mg and 2394 mg, respectively).
conclusionsPathways to initiating gabapentin NMU among individuals with OUD are varied and include health care and nonhealth care channels. High rates of both recreational and therapeutic motivations may suggest the utility of gabapentin in potentiating opioid effects and mitigating gaps in unmet health care needs. Despite risks of concomitant use, many individuals had current prescriptions for gabapentin, highlighting the importance of screening, monitoring and risk counseling when considering gabapentin prescriptions in OUD populations.
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