TY  - JOUR
TI  - Abuse of prescribed psychoactive drugs
AB  - 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 anysubstance whose production is subject to the approval of official authorities or whose sales is subject to theprescription 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 beconsidered in the context of ‘narcotic drugs’ in case of an abuse. The aim of this study was to investigate the typesand frequency of psychoactive drug abuse cases which reflected to the judicial authorities in Turkey. Methods: Thefiles that have been examined by the 5th Specialization Committee of the Turkish Council of Forensic Medicinebetween January 01st 2012 and January 01st 2019, within the scope of Article 188/6 of the Turkish Criminal Codenumbered 5237, were reviewed in this study. The files were evaluated in respect to the distribution of the abuseddrugs, other narcotic substances detected with these drugs, drug forms and quantities. Results: A total of 1710reports were examined in the study. The most frequently abused drug group was benzodiazepines, and the mostfrequently abused members were clonazepam, diazepam and alprazolam. Pregabalin, gabapentin, buprenorphineand 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. Gabapentinwas the one encountered most in the biological samples. Discussion: In the light of the data obtained, it can besaid 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 penaltieson the persons who possess such drugs by prescription and then sell them on the streets, and detection andmonitoring of the toxicity and death data related to psychoactive drugs are essential in fighting against drugs on a scientific basis. (Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry 2020; 21(2):195-202)
AU  - Mutlu, Emre
AU  - AŞICIOĞLU, Faruk
DO  - 10.5455/apd.53469
PY  - 2020
JO  - Anadolu Psikiyatri Dergisi
VL  - 21
IS  - 2
SN  - 1302-6631
SP  - 195
EP  - 202
DB  - TRDizin
UR  - http://search/yayin/detay/364218
ER  -