Drugs Identified in Deceased Person by Florida Medical Examiner

Dr. Bertha Madras speaks at the House Professions and Public Health Subcommittee

The most frequently occurring drugs found in decedents were ethyl alcohol (5,385), benzodiazepines (4,209, including 1,523 alprazolam occurrences), fentanyl (3,655), cocaine (2,962), cannabinoids (2,710), morphine (1,855), amphetamine (1,425), methamphetamine (1,419), fentanyl analogs (1,418) and oxycodone (1,181). Since heroin is rapidly metabolized to morphine, this may lead to a substantial over‐reporting of morphine‐related deaths as well as significant under‐reporting of heroin‐related deaths.