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When it comes to drug abuse, elderly adults are more prone to addiction than other age groups. Seniors use prescription drugs for all sorts of ailments, from chronic pain to insomnia. According to the NCADD, those 65 years of age and older consume nearly 40 percent of all medications prescribed in the country. And in contrast to other age groups, the elderly are more likely to take an increasing number of prescription drugs at any given time. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) estimates that about 3 in 10 people between the ages of 57 and 85 use at least five prescription drugs. Additionally, about 25 percent of seniors take highly addictive psychoactive medications for longer periods of time than any other age group. All of these statistics add up to seniors being much more likely than any other age group to experience prescription drug addiction.