A U.S. House report on the military’s 2012 budget stated that 14 percent of U.S. soldiers had been prescribed an opioid painkiller, with oxycodone accounting for 95 percent of those prescriptions, according to a report by the Daily.
The report, issued by the House Appropriations Committee, added that 25-35 percent of wounded soldiers are addicted to prescription or illegal drugs while they await medical discharge.
The Daily said the Pentagon lacks a drug-tracking system, making it easy for troops to share and swap medications. "They'll often have a medicine cabinet full of drugs, and they'll pass them around," a psychologist who counsels soldiers said.
The Appropriations Committee ordered the Pentagon to provide concrete information on "the required steps and potential obstacles toward electronic transmission of prescription drug data" within two months of approving the budget.
Read the Daily report on abuse of prescription painkillers.
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