PMID- 29370543
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20190314
LR  - 20191210
IS  - 1538-957X (Electronic)
IS  - 1538-9588 (Linking)
VI  - 19
IP  - 5
DP  - 2018 Jul 4
TI  - Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs in the eastern part of Denmark 
      in 2015 and 2016: Abuse patterns and trends.
PG  - 468-475
LID - 10.1080/15389588.2018.1428743 [doi]
AB  - OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to examine the frequency of 
      psychoactive drugs and alcohol in drivers under suspicion of driving under the 
      influence of drugs and alcohol in 2015 and 2016 in the eastern part of Denmark. 
      The trends in the number of traffic cases sent for drug analysis since 2000 and 
      alcohol analysis since 2011 are also discussed. METHODS: Blood samples from 
      drivers suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and/or medication 
      and/or illicit drugs in 2015 and 2016 were investigated as requested by the 
      police. The blood samples were screened for alcohol and/or tetrahydrocannabinol 
      (THC) alone, for other drugs (covering all drugs, except THC, listed in the 
      Danish list of narcotic drugs), or for THC and other drugs. Age and gender were 
      also recorded. The number of drug traffic cases since 2000 and the number of 
      alcohol cases since 2011 were extracted from our Laboratory Information 
      Management System (LIMS). RESULTS: In total, 11,493 traffic cases were 
      investigated. Alcohol and/or drugs exceeded the legal limit in 9,657 (84%) cases. 
      Men constituted 95% of the drivers investigated for drugs and 88% of the alcohol 
      cases. The drivers investigated for drugs consisted primarily of young men, 
      whereas drivers investigated for alcohol were older. The frequency was higher for 
      positive alcohol cases above the legal limit (87%) than for drug cases (76%) 
      above the fixed concentration limit. THC (67-69%) was the most frequently 
      detected drug above the legal limit, followed by cocaine (27-28.5%), amphetamine 
      (17%), and clonazepam (6-7%) in both years. Morphine (5.4%), included among the 5 
      most frequent drugs in 2015, was replaced by methadone (4.6%) in 2016. Few new 
      psychoactive drugs (NPS) were detected. The number of traffic cases sent for drug 
      analysis has increased more than 30-fold since 2000-2006, and the number of 
      traffic cases submitted in 2016 for drug analysis was higher than the number for 
      alcohol analysis; the latter has decreased since 2011. CONCLUSION: Overall, 
      alcohol was the most frequent compound detected above the legal limit in both 
      years, followed by the well-known illicit drugs THC, cocaine, and amphetamine. 
      NPS were seldom seen. One consequence of the increased focus on drugs in traffic 
      has been an immense increase in drug traffic cases sent for analysis since 2006 
      in the eastern part of Denmark. Although this survey revealed only minimal 
      changes compared to earlier investigations, surveys like this are invaluable for 
      monitoring abuse patterns and trends in drugged and drunken driving.
FAU - Simonsen, Kirsten Wiese
AU  - Simonsen KW
AD  - a Section of Forensic Chemistry, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of 
      Health Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark.
FAU - Linnet, Kristian
AU  - Linnet K
AD  - a Section of Forensic Chemistry, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of 
      Health Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark.
FAU - Rasmussen, Brian Schou
AU  - Rasmussen BS
AD  - a Section of Forensic Chemistry, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of 
      Health Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - England
TA  - Traffic Inj Prev
JT  - Traffic injury prevention
JID - 101144385
RN  - 0 (Illicit Drugs)
RN  - 0 (Narcotics)
RN  - 0 (Psychotropic Drugs)
RN  - 3K9958V90M (Ethanol)
RN  - 7J8897W37S (Dronabinol)
SB  - IM
MH  - Adolescent
MH  - Adult
MH  - Age Distribution
MH  - Aged
MH  - Aged, 80 and over
MH  - Denmark/epidemiology
MH  - Driving Under the Influence/*statistics & numerical data
MH  - Dronabinol/blood
MH  - Ethanol/blood
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - Illicit Drugs/blood
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - Narcotics/blood
MH  - Psychotropic Drugs/blood
MH  - Substance-Related Disorders/*epidemiology
MH  - Young Adult
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - DRUI
OT  - abuse patterns
OT  - blood alcohol
OT  - drug and driving
OT  - fixed concentration limits
EDAT- 2018/01/26 06:00
MHDA- 2019/03/15 06:00
CRDT- 2018/01/26 06:00
PHST- 2018/01/26 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2019/03/15 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2018/01/26 06:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1080/15389588.2018.1428743 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Traffic Inj Prev. 2018 Jul 4;19(5):468-475. doi: 10.1080/15389588.2018.1428743.