Not All Drug Deaths Involve Illegal Drugs
Drug-related deaths include both mortalities of abusers of illegal drugs and of non-drug abusers using prescription drugs, a British study found.
Dr. Caryl Beynon of Liverpool John Moores University and colleagues examined the records of 70 drug-related deaths that occurred in 2004 in Liverpool, England. Liverpool had the highest recorded number of drug-related deaths that year, said Beynon.
The sample included abusers of heroin and crack cocaine/cocaine as well as non-abusers more likely to have died from the toxic effects of anti-depressants, anti-psychotics and analgesics.
The study — published in Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention and Policy — excluded deaths related to drug misuse, such as in cases of bacterial and viral infections caused by sharing drug injecting equipment or contaminated drugs.