Sweden moves to battle high rate of drug deaths

Sweden has among the highest number of drug-related deaths in the EU despite its zero-tolerance policy
The Local (Sweden)
Friday, August 26, 2016

sweden-needlesSweden reported 92.9 deaths linked to narcotics use per million of adults in 2014, according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) – more than four times the European average of 19.2 deaths per million. The drug-induced mortality rate has also soared from a domestic perspective in the past two decades, from 70 cases in 1995 to 609 in 2014. The centre-left government has now tasked the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) to investigate the reasons. The country's tough 'zero tolerance' policy may be pushing up the number of drug-related deaths.