The annual prescription volume is highest for narcotics. Which options correspond to this category?

• A. Sedatives
• B. Antidepressants
• C. Narcotics
• D. Hypnotics

Answer: (C)

The main idea is recognizing what falls into the narcotics category and why that group tends to have the highest prescription volume. Narcotics are opioids used to relieve moderate to severe pain across many medical settings—postsurgical care, injury, cancer-, and chronic-pain management. Because pain relief is such a common and essential medical need, opioids have historically driven the largest number of prescriptions among major drug categories. The other categories—sedatives (calm anxiety), hypnotics (aid sleep), and antidepressants (treat mood disorders)—are different drug groups and, while widely prescribed, do not typically reach the same overall prescription counts as narcotics. So the option that corresponds to the narcotics category is the one describing narcotics.