however the prescription of a pain reliever was associated with a risk of nonmedical use of prescription opioids some eight times higher than other predictors also consistent with findings in other recent reports the european union medicine study showed that the purchase of prescription opioids from online pharmacies also figured as one of the sources among other findings polydrug use particularly the use of illicit drugs among pastyear nonmedical prescription opioid users was also quite common in the five european countries ranging from per cent of pastyear users in spain to per cent in the united kingdom similarly those who obtained prescription opioids through theft forgery or doctorshopping were about twice as likely to have used illicit drugs as those who had not