Global InformationList of deaths from drug overdose and intoxication information
Drug overdose and intoxication are significant causes of accidental death and can also be used as a form of suicide. Death can occur from overdosing on a single or multiple drugs, or from combined drug intoxication (CDI) due to poly drug use. Poly drug use often carries more risk than use of a single drug, due to an increase in side effects, and drug synergy. For example, the chance of death from overdosing on opiates is greatly increased when they are consumed in conjunction with alcohol.[2] While they are two distinct phenomena, deaths from CDI are often misreported as overdoses.[3] Drug overdoses and intoxication can also cause indirect deaths. For example, while marijuana does not cause fatal overdoses, being intoxicated by it can increase the chance of fatal traffic collisions.[4]
Drug use and overdoses increased significantly in the 1800s due to the commercialization and availability of certain drugs. For example, while opium and coca had been used for centuries, their active ingredients, morphine and the cocaine alkaloid, were not isolated until 1803 and 1855 respectively.[5][6] Cocaine and various opiates were subsequently mass-produced and sold openly and legally in the Western world, resulting in widespread misuse and addiction.[7][8] Drug use and addiction also increased significantly following the invention of the hypodermic syringe in 1853,[9] with overdose being a leading cause of death among intravenous drug users.[10]
Efforts to prohibit various drugs began to be enacted in the early 20th century, though the effectiveness of such policies is debated. Deaths from drug overdoses are increasing. Between 2000 and 2014, fatal overdoses rose 137% in the United States, causing nearly half a million deaths in that period,[11] and have also been continually increasing in Australia,[12] Scotland,[13][14] England, and Wales.[15] While prohibited drugs are generally viewed as being the most dangerous, the misuse of prescription drugs is linked to more deaths in several countries.[12][16] Cocaine and heroin combined caused fewer deaths than prescriptions drugs in the United Kingdom in 2013,[17][18] and fewer deaths than prescription opiates alone in the United States in 2008.[19] As of 2016[update], benzodiazepines were most likely to cause fatal overdose in Australia,[20] with diazepam (Valium) being the drug most responsible.[12] While fatal overdoses are highly associated with drugs such as opiates, cocaine and alcohol,[2] deaths from other drugs such as caffeine are extremely rare.[21]
This alphabetical list contains 634 people whose deaths can be reliably sourced to be the result of drug overdose or acute drug intoxication. Where sources indicate drug overdose or intoxication was only suspected to be the cause of death, this will be specified in the 'notes' column. Where sources are able to indicate, deaths are specified as 'suicide', 'accidental', 'undetermined', or otherwise in the 'cause' column. Where sources do not explicitly state intent, they will be listed in this column as 'unknown'. Deaths from accidents or misadventure caused by drug overdoses or intoxication are also included on this list. Deaths from long-term effects of drugs, such as tobacco-related cancers and cirrhosis from alcohol, are not included, nor are deaths from lethal injection or legal euthanasia.
- ^ "One Pill Can Kill". US Drug Enforcement Administration. Archived from the original on November 15, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
- ^ a b Coffin, Phillip O.; Galea, Sandro (May 22, 2003). "Opiates, cocaine and alcohol combinations in accidental drug overdose deaths in New York City, 1990–98" (PDF). Addiction. 98 (6): 739–46. doi:10.1046/j.1360-0443.2003.00376.x. hdl:2027.42/40256. PMID 12780362. Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
- ^ Judd, Amy (July 16, 2013). "'Mixed drug toxicity' vs 'overdose': Cory Monteith's cause of death". Global News Morning. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
- ^ Calabria, Bianca (2010). "Does cannabis use increase the risk of death? Systematic review of epidemiological evidence on adverse effects of cannabis use". Drug and Alcohol Review. 29 (3): 318–30. doi:10.1111/j.1465-3362.2009.00149.x. PMID 20565525.
- ^ Courtwright, David T. (2009). Forces of habit drugs and the making of the modern world (1 ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-0-674-02990-3. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
- ^ Gaedcke, F. (1855). "Ueber das Erythroxylin, dargestellt aus den Blättern des in Südamerika cultivirten Strauches Erythroxylon Coca". Archiv der Pharmazie. 132 (2): 141–50. doi:10.1002/ardp.18551320208. S2CID 86030231. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Drug that spans the ages: The history of cocaine". The Independent. March 2, 2006. Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- ^ Jenkins, P. Nash (February 24, 2014). "Heroin Addiction's Fraught History". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on February 25, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- ^ Fernandez, Humberto (2011). Heroin: Its History, Pharmacology, and Treatment. Hazelden Publishing. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-59285-830-9.
- ^ Kerr, Thomas; Fairbairn, Nadia; Tyndall, Mark (2007). "Predictors of non-fatal overdose among a cohort of polysubstance-using injection drug users". Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 87 (1): 39–45. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2006.07.009. PMID 16959438.
- ^ Rudd, Rose A.; Aleshire, Noah; Zibbell, Jon E. (January 1, 2016). "Increases in Drug and Opioid Overdose Deaths – United States, 2000–2014". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 64 (50–51): 1378–82. PMID 26720857. Archived from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
- ^ a b c Spooner, Rania (April 4, 2016). "Prescription drugs led by Valium linked to more deaths than heroin and alcohol". The Age. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
- ^ "Drug-related deaths reach highest level on record". BBC News. August 25, 2015. Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
- ^ "Drug deaths in Scotland increased by 15% in 2015". BBC News. August 17, 2016. Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
- ^ Gayle, Damien (September 9, 2016). "Drug-related deaths hit record levels in England and Wales". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 27, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ Bonn, Scott A (April 28, 2014). "Prescription Drugs Are More Deadly Than Street Drugs". Psychology Today. Archived from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
- ^ Ungoed-Thomas, Jon; Grimston, Jack (September 8, 2013). "Deaths soar as Britain turns into nation of prescription drug addicts". The Times. Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
- ^ Kirwan-Taylor, Helen (October 4, 2013). "Are you on the pills? The prescription drugs that are as addictive as heroin". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
- ^ "Vital Signs: Overdoses of Prescription Opioid Pain Relievers – United States, 1999–2008". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. November 4, 2011. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
- ^ "Drug Induced Deaths in Australia: A changing story". Australian Bureau of Statistics. May 16, 1028. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023.
- ^ Holmgren, Per; Nordén-Pettersson, Lotta; Ahlner, Johan (2004). "Caffeine fatalities – four case reports". Forensic Science International. 139 (1): 71–73. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2003.09.019. PMID 14687776.