Abuse of prescribed psychoactive drugs

Objective: The abuse of psychoactive drugs and addiction to them have been a growing problem in the world. Article 188/6 of the Turkish Criminal Code numbered 5237 states The provisions of this article shall apply to any substance whose production is subject to the approval of official authorities or whose sales is subject to the prescription issued by the authorized physician, and to other substances causes a narcotic or stimulant effect. However, the imposed penalty can be reduced to half.' and warrants a penalty, indicating that such drugs will be considered in the context of 'narcotic drugs' in case of an abuse. The aim of this study was to investigate the types and frequency of psychoactive drug abuse cases which reflected to the judicial authorities in Turkey. Methods: The files that have been examined by the 5th Specialization Committee of the Turkish Council of Forensic Medicine between January 01St 2012 and January 01St 2019, within the scope of Article 188/6 of the Turkish Criminal Code numbered 5237, were reviewed in this study. The files were evaluated in respect to the distribution of the abused drugs, other narcotic substances detected with these drugs, drug forms and quantities. Results: A total of 1710 reports were examined in the study. The most frequently abused drug group was benzodiazepines, and the most frequently abused members were clonazepam, diazepam and alprazolam. Pregabalin, gabapentin, buprenorphine and quetiapine were the other drugs that took the first place in terms of abuse frequency. The most common narcotic substances detected with drugs were cannabis, synthetic cannabinoids and methylenedioxymethamphetamine. Buprenorphine and pregabalin were the most seized drugs at the crime scenes and on the suspects. Gabapentin was the one encountered most in the biological samples. Discussion: In the light of the data obtained, it can be said that the abused drug profiles may change over time and these changes may be affected by foreign currents. In order to reduce drug abuse, strict follow-up of psychoactive drug prescriptions, attention of the clinicians to the indications, dosage and usage of the drugs that may be abused, a detailed medical investigation of the patients' medical histories, briefing of the patients about the drugs with the potential for addiction, increasing the penalties on the persons who possess such drugs by prescription and then sell them on the streets, and detection and monitoring of the toxicity and death data related to psychoactive drugs are essential in fighting against drugs on a scientific basis.