--- title: Risk of Stimulant Use Rises After Opioid Deprescribing description: Individuals with a history of non-medical opioid or stimulant use who lose access to their prescribed opioids are at elevated risk of turning to street drugs to manage chronic pain. image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/empty_pills_iStock-1791183285.jpg --- 5/29/26 12:12 PM # Risk of Stimulant Use Rises After Opioid Deprescribing ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/risk-of-stimulant-use-rises-after-opioid-deprescribing) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/risk-of-stimulant-use-rises-after-opioid-deprescribing) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/risk-of-stimulant-use-rises-after-opioid-deprescribing) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/risk-of-stimulant-use-rises-after-opioid-deprescribing) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/risk-of-stimulant-use-rises-after-opioid-deprescribing) ![empty_pills_iStock-1791183285](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/empty_pills_iStock-1791183285.jpg?width=220&height=165&name=empty_pills_iStock-1791183285.jpg)Individuals with a history of non-medical opioid or stimulant use who lose access to their prescribed opioids are at elevated risk of turning to street drugs to manage chronic pain, according to a [study ](https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(26)00180-7/fulltext)in the *American Journal of Preventive Medicine*.   **Why It’s Relevant** Concerns about opioid-related morbidity and mortality, increases in overdose deaths, and evolving clinical guidelines for the management of chronic pain have prompted a decrease in opioid prescribing since 2015. Individuals with a history of substance use in particular face difficulties in accessing and maintaining opioid prescriptions, which may lead to unintended consequences for those patients.   **By the Numbers** - Researchers analyzed data from 300 adults with a lifetime history of non-prescribed opioid or stimulant (cocaine or methamphetamine) use who had received long-term opioids for chronic non-cancer pain over the past year. - Fifty-nine percent lost access to opioid prescriptions for at least 30 days during the study period. These patients had **2.55 times the odds of increasing their cocaine use** and **3.4 times the odds of increasing their methamphetamine use **compared with patients who had continuous access to opioid prescriptions. - In addition, **patients who identified as Black/African American or who had depression had 2.89 and 2.23 times the odds of increasing the frequency of their cocaine use,** respectively, compared with patients without these traits. **The Other Side** The study relied on self-reported data, which may be subject to biases. In addition, the study was conducted in a single safety-net health care system among individuals with a history of unregulated substance use—many of whom were using stimulants at baseline— which limits the generalizability of the findings.   **Takeaway Message** “Although high levels of opioid prescribing have historically led to serious national consequences and increased overdose deaths, [our] findings emphasize the need for caution when adjusting pre-existing opioid regimens among vulnerable populations,” the researchers wrote. They added that their results both raise concerns about protocolized, insufficiently individualized opioid deprescribing and support patient-centered efforts to reduce reliance on opioids for pain management.   **Related Information** “[CDC Issues New Opioid Prescribing Guideline](https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.pn.2023.02.2.12)”   **Source** Leslie W. Suen, et al. Stimulant use after loss of access to prescribed opioids for chronic non-cancer pain. *American Journal of Preventive Medicine*. Published online May 27, 2026. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2026.108437   (Image: Getty Images/iStock/gchapel)   [substance use](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/substance-use), [opioids](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/opioids), [stimulants](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/stimulants), [cocaine](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/cocaine), [chronic pain](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/chronic-pain), [deprescribing](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/deprescribing), [methamphetamines](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/methamphetamines) ## Related Posts [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pills_2684709-Jun-24-2025-04-19-16-5859-PM.jpg?height=200&name=pills_2684709-Jun-24-2025-04-19-16-5859-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/06/study-suggests-long-acting-opioids.html) ## [Study Suggests Long-Acting Opioids Increase Risk of Non-Overdose Death](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/06/study-suggests-long-acting-opioids.html) 6/15/16 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/06/study-suggests-long-acting-opioids.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/parents_teen_doc_iStock-1004248668-Jun-24-2025-10-39-27-2069-PM.jpg?height=200&name=parents_teen_doc_iStock-1004248668-Jun-24-2025-10-39-27-2069-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2021/04/study-identifies-risk-factors-for.html) ## [Study Identifies Risk Factors for Opioid Use Disorder, Overdose in Youth](https://alert.psychnews.org/2021/04/study-identifies-risk-factors-for.html) 4/9/21 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2021/04/study-identifies-risk-factors-for.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pills_2684709-Jun-24-2025-04-26-35-6866-PM.jpg?height=200&name=pills_2684709-Jun-24-2025-04-26-35-6866-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/07/greater-pain-found-to-increase-risk-of.html) ## [Greater Pain Found to Increase Risk of Opioid Use Disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/07/greater-pain-found-to-increase-risk-of.html) 7/25/16 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/07/greater-pain-found-to-increase-risk-of.html) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert" }, "dateModified" : "2026-05-29T16:12:23.702Z", "datePublished" : "2026-05-29T16:12:23.000Z", "headline" : "Risk of Stimulant Use Rises After Opioid Deprescribing", "image" : [ "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/empty_pills_iStock-1791183285.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/risk-of-stimulant-use-rises-after-opioid-deprescribing", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/PN-Blue-Box.jpg" } } } ```