Prescription drug abuse has reached epidemic proportions. Nonmedical prescription opioid use carries increasingly high costs. Despite the need to cultivate efforts that are both effective and fiscally responsible, the cost-effectiveness of universal evidence-based-preventive-interventions (EBPIs) is rarely evaluated. This study explores the performance of these programs to reduce nonmedical prescription opioid use. Crowley and his co-authors found that only one school-based program was effective when used by itself. The Botvin LifeSkills Training program resulted in 4 percent lower drug abuse rates, compared with a control group. The 18-session course teaches social skills that build competence and encourage assertiveness. LifeSkills Training was also among the most cost-effective programs studied, costing an average of $15 per child. By contrast, the study notes that prescription drug abusers cost society an average of $7,500 each for treatment and other expenses, by conservative estimates.