Original Article

Methadone still accounts for most fatal poisonings among drug users

Although the number of deaths due to intoxication among drug users in Denmark has dropped down during the last 10 years, still more than 150 individuals die each year. The study by Simonsen et al. analyses all 162 fatal poisonings among drug users 2017 at the three institutes of forensic medicine in Denmark: Copenhagen, Aarhus and Odense.

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Redaktionen

4. jan. 2021

1 min.

The authors report that methadone (52%) was the most common cause of death, followed by heroin/morphine (25%). A marked increase in deaths was due to stimulants (13%), especially cocaine. They conclude that methadone remained the most frequently detected drug, but clonazepam and cocaine surpassed heroin/morphine, diazepam and tetrahydrocannabinol as the second-most frequently detected drugs.

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Fatal poisoning among drug users in Denmark in 2017
Kirsten Wiese Simonsen, Dorte J. Christoffersen, Kristian Linnet & Charlotte Uggerhøj Andersen