Prescription Stimulant Statistics

How Many Americans Use and Misuse Prescription Stimulants

In 2025, 3.9 million people aged 12 or older in the United States, or 1.4%, misused prescription stimulants in the past year.^[16] Young adults aged 18 to 25 had the highest rate at 2.7%, representing about 978,000 people.^[16]

Prescription stimulants such as Adderall, Vyvanse, Ritalin, and Concerta have legitimate medical uses, including treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).^[19][21] They also carry risks of misuse, addiction, and overdose.^[19] Understanding prescription stimulant addiction statistics starts with separating medical use, misuse, and a use disorder. Those measures answer different questions.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) uses a broader prescription stimulant category than ADHD medication alone. It includes amphetamine and methylphenidate products, weight-loss stimulants, modafinil (Provigil), and other prescription stimulants. Methamphetamine is excluded unless a respondent identifies its prescription form, Desoxyn, as another prescription stimulant they misused.^[16]

How Prescription Stimulant Use, Misuse, and Addiction Differ

Use means taking a prescription stimulant. Misuse means taking it without your own prescription or in a way other than directed, such as taking extra doses.^[20] A survey of people who use prescription stimulants is therefore not necessarily a survey only of patients with their own prescriptions.^[1][2][19]

Prescription stimulant abuse and addiction are related terms, but they should not be treated as interchangeable with any use of these medicines. Addiction involves a pattern that can include difficulty controlling use, a strong desire to take the drug, and continued use despite harmful consequences.^[20] A prescription stimulant use disorder, or PSUD, is the diagnostic category measured in the newer adult study using DSM-5 criteria. Meeting survey criteria does not necessarily mean a participant received a new diagnosis from a clinician.^[2]

Physical dependence is different from addiction. Dependence is the body’s adaptation to repeated use, which can produce withdrawal symptoms after stopping or substantially reducing a medicine. Dependence alone, or benefiting from ongoing ADHD treatment, does not establish the harmful, hard-to-control pattern associated with addiction.^[20]

Historical Estimates of Adult Prescription Stimulant Use

The estimate of about 16 million adult users and 5 million adults reporting misuse comes from the 2015–2016 NSDUH.^[1] These are historical annual averages for adults aged 18 or older, not current counts.^[1]

These findings describe how common use, misuse, and disorder were during the survey period. They do not show how many people who misused later developed a disorder.^[1] The older adult estimates also should not be compared directly with the 2025 estimate for people aged 12 or older to calculate a trend. The populations and survey methods differ.^[1][16]

Misuse and Use Disorder Among Adults Who Use Prescription Stimulants

Among community-dwelling adults aged 18 to 64 who used prescription stimulants in 2021–2022, about one-quarter reported past-year misuse and about one in eleven met criteria for PSUD.^[2] The study was published in 2025, but its survey estimates describe 2021–2022.^[2]

Among participants who met criteria for PSUD, the study found that:

• 72.9% used only their own prescribed stimulants.^[2]
• 87.1% used amphetamine-type prescription stimulants.^[2]
• 42.5% reported no misuse.^[2]
• 63.6% had a disorder classified as mild.^[2]

These categories overlap. They are not separate groups that should add up to 100%, and they are not stages through which someone inevitably progresses. The finding that some people met disorder criteria without reporting misuse supports checking for problems beyond whether someone reports taking extra doses. A mild classification does not mean that a person’s difficulties are unimportant.^[2][20]

The older study measured misuse with use disorders, while this newer study assessed DSM-5 PSUD among users with and without reported misuse. Its 9.0% estimate therefore should not be used with the older 0.2% estimate to calculate an increase in addiction.^[1][2] They have different denominators and disorder measures.^[1][2]

Who Is Prescribed Prescription Stimulants

Prescription stimulants can help people with ADHD stay focused, listen, and reduce excessive movement. Depending on the medication, they also have uses in narcolepsy and binge-eating disorder. These treatment benefits are distinct from using someone else’s medication or taking more than prescribed.^[19]

ADHD Diagnosis and Medication Treatment in Children and Adults

In 2022, about 7.1 million US children aged 3 to 17 had ever received an ADHD diagnosis, and 6.5 million had current ADHD.^[5] Among children with current ADHD, 53.6% received ADHD medication.^[5] In a separate adult survey conducted in October–November 2023, about 15.5 million adults reported a current ADHD diagnosis, and roughly one-third of adults with ADHD had taken a stimulant for it in the previous year.^[6]

ADHD medication is not synonymous with prescription stimulants because treatment also includes nonstimulant medicines.^[4] These figures describe diagnosis and treatment access, not misuse. The child study also found that 30.1% of children with current ADHD received neither ADHD medication nor behavioral treatment, showing that unmet treatment needs remain part of the picture.^[5]

How Many People Are Prescribed Adderall in the United States?

The studies cited here do not provide a current national count of people prescribed Adderall or the percentage of US adults taking it. The historical estimate of 16 million adult prescription stimulant users covers the whole medication category, not Adderall alone.^[1] Likewise, the 9.0% PSUD estimate among adult stimulant users is not an Adderall-specific addiction rate.^[2]

Prescription counts and patient counts also answer different questions. The dispensing figure for middle-aged women counts people dispensed prescription stimulants, not the total number of prescriptions filled.^[2] Keeping those measures separate prevents a prescription total from being mistaken for the number of Americans taking Adderall.

Amphetamine Users Reported Higher Misuse Prevalence Than Methylphenidate Users

In the 2021–2022 adult survey, misuse was 3.1 times as prevalent among people using amphetamine-type prescription stimulants as among those using methylphenidate.^[2] PSUD was 2.2 times as prevalent.^[2] Adderall and Vyvanse belong to the amphetamine family, while Ritalin and Concerta are methylphenidate products.^[19][21]

Prevalence describes how common something is in a group. A prevalence ratio compares those proportions. These findings do not establish that one medicine causes a threefold increase in an individual’s future risk of misuse.^[2] Methylphenidate is not risk-free either. Ritalin’s prescribing information warns about misuse, addiction, overdose, and the need for ongoing monitoring.^[20]

Prescription Stimulant Misuse Among Young People

Young adults aged 18 to 25 had the highest national past-year prescription stimulant misuse rate in 2025, at 2.7%.^[16] The rate among adolescents aged 12 to 17 was 0.8%.^[16] College studies provide additional detail about particular student populations, but they should not be treated as estimates for all young people.

Prescription Stimulant Misuse Among College Students

In a survey of 40,645 undergraduates in 2017, 8% reported past-year prescription stimulant misuse.^[7] A separate study of 224,469 undergraduates aged 18 to 25 at 395 universities during 2019–2022 found that 2.4% reported misuse in the previous three months.^[8]

The difference between 8% and 2.4% does not establish a decline.^[7][8] One study asked about an entire year, while the other asked about three months, and the samples differed.^[7][8] For example, a student who misused a stimulant six months before a survey could count toward a past-year measure but not a past-three-month measure.

The newer study found that each one-percentage-point increase in university-level ADHD medication treatment prevalence was associated with a 7% higher relative prevalence of stimulant misuse.^[8] It did not establish that prescribing caused misuse. Among students with ADHD, there was no statistically significant difference in misuse between those receiving medication and those not receiving medication.^[8]

Academic difficulty, daytime sleepiness, mental health conditions, and other substance use were associated with misuse in the 2017 college study.^[7] A systematic review found little evidence that nonmedical stimulant use improves academic performance in people without ADHD.^[12] FDA also warns that anxiety and sleep loss from nonmedical use can interfere with studying and exams.^[19] For a student struggling to keep up, getting help with attention, sleep, or mental health addresses the problem more directly than borrowing a friend’s medication.

Prescription Stimulant Misuse Among Adolescents and High School Seniors

In a study of 414 urban students in grades 9 through 11, 8% reported past-year prescription stimulant misuse.^[10] The sample was racially diverse and socioeconomically disadvantaged, so this was a finding about those participating students, not a national adolescent rate.^[10] Misuse was associated with greater depression and anxiety symptoms and other substance use. Binge drinking and cigarette use remained significant correlates after the researchers accounted for other measured factors.^[10]

A separate national study of high school seniors surveyed during 2009–2016 found that about 11% reported past-year nonmedical use of prescription drugs.^[9] That figure combined anxiolytics, opioids, and stimulants. It is not a stimulant-only or Adderall-specific estimate.^[9]

Longitudinal research provides an important distinction between treatment and misuse. Adolescents who reported prescription stimulant misuse without stimulant treatment for ADHD had higher adjusted odds of later cocaine or methamphetamine initiation and use in young adulthood, with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.64.^[15] Adolescents who reported stimulant therapy for ADHD did not have a statistically significant increase compared with population controls.^[15] This supports screening after adolescent misuse without treating appropriate ADHD care as a cause of later illicit stimulant use.

Prescription Stimulant Statistics by Sex and Age

Sex differences depend on who is being studied. In pooled national survey data from 2015–2019, men had 1.37 times the odds of past-year prescription stimulant misuse compared with women.^[11] Researchers found no observed sex difference in prescription stimulant use disorder prevalence.^[11] This pooled comparison describes a difference between groups, not a year-by-year trend proving that the gap was closing.

Misuse Among Women and Men Who Use Prescription Stimulants

Among prescription stimulant users aged 18 to 64 in the 2021–2022 survey, women aged 18 to 25 had the highest misuse prevalence of the sex-and-age subgroups studied, at 36.8%.^[2] Women aged 35 to 64 had the lowest, at 13.7%.^[2] These are percentages of stimulant users in each subgroup, not percentages of all women or men.

Women and Growth in Prescription Stimulant Treatment

Women aged 35 to 64 had the largest increase in the number of people dispensed prescription stimulants from early 2019 to late 2022, while also having the lowest misuse prevalence among the adult user subgroups studied. The authors suggested that the dispensing increase might reflect progress in addressing unmet mental health care needs among middle-aged women.^[2] More treatment therefore should not automatically be read as more misuse.

A global narrative review also found faster growth in ADHD medication use among females, with female-to-male patterns reversing in some adult populations. That review covered ADHD medication broadly, including nonstimulant options, and did not establish that prescribing increased in every country.^[4]

Sexual Orientation and Prescription Stimulant Misuse Patterns

The pooled 2015–2019 national study found that the size of the sex difference in stimulant misuse varied with sexual orientation as well as age.^[11] This finding does not establish one uniform misuse rate for lesbian, gay, or bisexual adults. It supports looking beyond a single overall comparison when planning outreach and care.

Prescription Stimulant Statistics by Race and Ethnicity

White race was associated with prescription stimulant misuse in the 2017 college study, alongside cis-male gender and fraternity or sorority involvement.^[7] These are associations in a college population, not evidence that race determines an individual’s likelihood of addiction.

The racially diverse urban adolescent study also documented misuse outside the populations that dominate college research.^[10] Neither study establishes a national ranking of misuse rates across all racial and ethnic groups. Prevention and access to care should not depend on assuming that one community is unaffected.

How Prescription Stimulant Prescribing and Misuse Have Changed

Prescribing increased in the dispensing study, but recent national misuse did not increase overall. Past-year prescription stimulant misuse among people aged 12 or older was 1.4% in both 2021 and 2025, with no statistically significant change reported.^[16] Among young adults aged 18 to 25, it decreased from 4.1% to 2.7%.^[16]

Earlier research found higher adjusted nonmedical prescription stimulant use prevalence among people aged 12 to 64 in 2013–2014 than in 2003–2004, but the intervening pattern was not a steady increase.^[3] The newer comparable series is the appropriate source for describing the 2021–2025 trend.^[16]

Prescription Stimulant Dispensing From 2019 to 2022

The number of women aged 35 to 64 dispensed prescription stimulants increased from 1.2 million in the first quarter of 2019 to 1.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.^[2] This was the largest increase among the sex-and-age groups examined.^[2]

These are quarterly patient counts for one subgroup, not annual totals of all US stimulant prescriptions or Adderall prescriptions.^[2] Internationally, a narrative review found rising ADHD medication use in most countries it examined, with recent declines in the Netherlands as an exception.^[4]

Telehealth Access and Prescription Stimulant Shortages

During the COVID-19 pandemic, temporary federal changes suspended the usual in-person examination requirement before controlled-substance prescribing, while state licensing changes also expanded some cross-state telehealth access. These historical changes helped enable telemedicine-only treatment platforms and raised questions about safe prescribing and diversion.^[13] They do not establish what telehealth prescribing rules apply today.

Telehealth also became an important access route. In the October–November 2023 adult ADHD survey, about half of adults with ADHD had ever used telehealth for ADHD-related services.^[6]

Medication availability was a separate difficulty. Among adults who took a stimulant for ADHD in the previous year, 71.5% reported trouble filling their ADHD prescription because it was unavailable.^[6] This describes experiences reported in 2023, not current pharmacy inventory. If a prescription is unavailable, ask the prescriber and pharmacist about a medically appropriate plan rather than borrowing medication or buying from an unverified seller. FDA warns that illegal sellers may supply falsified pills containing fentanyl or methamphetamine.^[19]

Where Misused Prescription Stimulants Come From

Friends and relatives are a major source of prescription stimulants used nonmedically. In the 2013–2014 NSDUH, 53.2% of nonmedical users aged 12 to 64 said they obtained the stimulant used most recently free from a friend or relative.^[3] FDA’s review of the broader literature likewise identified friends and family as the most common source.^[19]

A different finding concerns people with a disorder rather than everyone reporting misuse. In the 2021–2022 adult-user study, 72.9% of those meeting PSUD criteria used only their own prescribed stimulants.^[2] That does not mean that 72.9% of all misused pills came from the user’s prescription.^[2] It shows why monitoring should include people with their own prescriptions as well as people obtaining medication elsewhere.

Among high school seniors reporting nonmedical prescription drug use in 2009–2016, 44.2% obtained drugs from multiple sources.^[9] That statistic combined anxiolytics, opioids, and stimulants, so it cannot be treated as a stimulant-only supply estimate.^[9]

Preventing Prescription Stimulant Diversion

Diversion includes giving or selling your prescription medication to someone else. Sharing a pill with a roommate before an exam is still diversion, even when the intention is to help.^[19][20]

FDA recommends practical steps that patients and families can take:

• Take the medicine only as prescribed and do not share it.^[19]
• Store it securely where children, visitors, and others cannot access it.^[19]
• Use an appropriate disposal method or drug take-back program for unused or expired medication.^[19]
• Tell the prescriber about difficulty controlling your own use.^[19]

These precautions protect access to legitimate treatment while reducing opportunities for misuse.

Overdose Deaths and Health Risks Tied to Prescription Stimulants

Prescription stimulant overdose can be fatal. FDA warns that the danger increases with higher doses and with methods such as snorting or injecting. Serious effects can include heart attack, stroke, and seizures.^[19]

Deaths involving stimulants broadly should not be presented as deaths caused by prescribed ADHD medicines. A 2023 study cited a roughly tenfold increase in stimulant-related overdose deaths over the preceding decade as background, but that was not a prescription-stimulant-only death count.^[15] The sources cited here do not provide a current national count that isolates deaths from prescription stimulant use.

What Prescription Stimulant Mortality Studies Found

A 2025 study found associations between prescription stimulant use and mortality in two different datasets. Its FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) analysis compared sudden-death reports involving stimulants with reports involving 30 control medications selected as unlikely to cause serious cardiovascular events or sudden death, using propensity-score matching. Its electronic health record analysis used a self-controlled case-series design among adults at one metropolitan health care center, examining mortality after stimulant initiation within individuals and also analyzing control medications.^[14]

These associations do not establish that the medication caused the deaths, and they do not tell an individual patient their absolute chance of dying. In the health-record analysis, the reported association increased with age at first use for all studied stimulants except lisdexamfetamine.^[14]

The practical takeaway is to review cardiovascular history and monitor treatment, not to interpret a relative measure as a personal prediction. Ritalin’s prescribing information calls for assessment of cardiac disease, a family history of sudden death or ventricular arrhythmia, and a physical examination before treatment. It also calls for monitoring blood pressure and heart rate during treatment.^[20]

Getting Help for Prescription Stimulant Misuse and Addiction

Help can address both stimulant-related problems and the condition the medication was intended to treat. FDA advises talking with a health professional if stimulant use is affecting health, relationships, responsibilities, or the law, or if controlling use has become difficult.^[19] You do not have to wait for a crisis to start that conversation.

SAMHSA’s 2021 treatment guide identifies contingency management as the approach with the strongest evidence for stimulant use disorders. It also describes support for cognitive behavioral therapy and relapse prevention, community reinforcement, and motivational interviewing, particularly when combined with contingency management.^[17]

A treatment provider can explain the available approaches and how they fit alongside medical care and treatment for co-occurring conditions.

For a useful first appointment, bring the medication name and describe how you actually take it, including whether it is your prescription, how often you take extra doses, and any cravings, sleep changes, or effects on responsibilities. A clinician can assess the pattern of use, review medication safety and ADHD treatment needs, and help arrange appropriate substance use treatment.^[2][19][20]

When contacting a stimulant misuse treatment program, ask whether it offers contingency management or referrals for it, which other behavioral treatments are available, and how it coordinates with the clinician managing your medications.^[17] Ask the program to explain what participation involves, including appointments, costs, and how progress is assessed.

Related resources can help you prepare:

• Learn about prescription stimulants and their medical uses.
• Read the individual guide to Adderall.
• Visit find treatment help for online therapy referral information. For medication safety or addiction assessment, also contact an appropriate medical or addiction clinician.

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