The number of people dying of a drugs overdose in the Netherlands has tripled over the past 10 years, reaching 378 in 2024, according to new figures from addiction clinic Trimbos.
In 2014, 123 people died from a drugs overdose, but by 2024 this had risen to 378, the institute said. Opioid painkillers, such as oxycodone, appear to be responsible for the increase.
The number of opioid related deaths has risen from around 40 cases a year to 165 over the 10-year period, the Trimbos institute said. Most of these were down to drugs such as fentanyl and oxycodone rather than morphine or heroin, and one in three of deaths was a suicide.
Drugs may have played a part in more deaths, but toxicology reports are not always carried out, making it impossible to say, Trimbos said.
“We can’t currently explain the rise in opioid-related and other deaths,” researcher Lisa Davies said. “Better registration may play a role, as may the rise in the use of medicinal opioids.” The upward trend, she said, requires careful monitoring.
The number of cases classed as “other and unspecified drugs” accounted for 135 of the deaths.
In total, 61 deaths were attributed to cocaine use, while ecstasy and amphetamines account for 10 to 20 deaths a year.
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