Conor Stewart
Research expert covering health & pharmaceuticals in the UK & Europe
Get in touch with us nowTotal number of drug deaths in the Netherlands 2006-2018
Between 2006 and 2018, each year between 94 and 262 people died because of drug use in the Netherlands. The number of casualties was lowest in 2010 and peaked in 2017. In four out of the last five years, a new record in drug deaths was reached. Only 2014 saw a decrease in the number of drug-related deaths recorded.
Opiates, cocaine and other dangerous drugs
Many drug deaths in the Netherlands in 2017 were caused by opiates. Of the total 262 casualties in 2017, 127 died because of opiate use. By comparison, there were 55 cocaine deaths that year. This is also the highest number of cocaine-related deaths in the country in the past decade.
Cocaine use on the rise
According to the Trimbos survey on drug use, cocaine use has increased in the Netherlands. Whereas in 1997, 2.6 percent of the respondents stated to have used cocaine at least once in their lives, by 2017 this had grown to over five percent. 0.6 percent of survey participants answered to have used cocaine in the past month, a significant change in comparison to earlier years as well.
Opiates, cocaine and other dangerous drugs
Many drug deaths in the Netherlands in 2017 were caused by opiates. Of the total 262 casualties in 2017, 127 died because of opiate use. By comparison, there were 55 cocaine deaths that year. This is also the highest number of cocaine-related deaths in the country in the past decade.
Cocaine use on the rise
According to the Trimbos survey on drug use, cocaine use has increased in the Netherlands. Whereas in 1997, 2.6 percent of the respondents stated to have used cocaine at least once in their lives, by 2017 this had grown to over five percent. 0.6 percent of survey participants answered to have used cocaine in the past month, a significant change in comparison to earlier years as well.
