Deaths from drugs of abuse in Sheffield, 1998: the role of prescribed medication.

Characteristics of recent drug abuse-related deaths in the city of Sheffield were examined from the coroner's records. Almost all of those who died of poisoning from a drug of abuse were known to be dependent on heroin yet less than half were receiving treatment. Benzodiazepines were frequently detected alongside opiates during toxicology, the source of which was likely to be the deceased's own prescription.