Citation

Paul ABM, Simms L, Mahesan AA, Belanger EC. J. Forensic Leg. Med. 2018; 58: 20-24.

Affiliation

Department of Pathology, University of Ottawa, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jflm.2018.04.002

PMID

29680493

Abstract

Illegal drug abuse, particularly prescription drug abuse is a growing problem in the United States. Research on adolescent drug abuse is based on national self-reported data. Using local coroner data, quantitative prevalence of illegal substance toxicology and trends can be assessed to aid directed outreach and community-based prevention initiatives. Retrospective analysis was conducted on all cases aged 12-17 years referred to the Office of the Medical Examiner, Clark County from 2005 to 2015 (n = 526). The prevalence of illegal opioid use in this population was 13.3%. The most commonly used drug was tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in 29.7%. Illegal-prescription opioids and benzodiazepines were used approximately 1.7 times as much as all other illegal-drugs, excluding THC combined. The largest proportion of illicit prescription drug users were accidental death victims (p = 0.02, OR = 2.02). Drug trends by youth are ever evolving and current specific data is necessary to target prevention initiatives in local communities.

Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Language: en