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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
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Most homicides linked to drugs, alcohol: study [AU]
#7443694 - 09/23/07 10:44 AM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Most homicides linked to drugs, alcohol: study By Kate Benson, Medical Reporter September 24, 2007 - smh.com.au
ALMOST two-thirds of homicide victims have alcohol or drugs in their bodies when they are killed and 60 per cent of those who die in a fight are intoxicated, researchers have found.
The study, which looked at autopsies of 485 homicide victims in NSW over 10 years, found that those who got drunk or took drugs had a far greater risk of being murdered because they reacted differently to dangerous situations.
"Things that happen when you are intoxicated don't usually happen when you are sober," the study's author, Professor Shane Darke, of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of NSW, said yesterday.
"People say things they would not normally say, or they take offence, or they misinterpret something and a fight starts, and someone ends up dead. The great tragedy is that many of these people would probably still be alive if they had been sober at the time of the incident."
The study found that 68 per cent of male homicide victims had a substance - such as alcohol, cannabis, heroin, crystal methamphetamine, cocaine or benzodiazepines - in their blood at the time of death, with 46 per cent testing positive to alcohol, 24 per cent to cannabis and 10 per cent to stimulants.
"These figures are stratospheric when compared to the rest of the population," Professor Darke said. "Only about 9 per cent of the population are daily drinkers and 2 per cent daily cannabis users, but they are grossly over-represented in these statistics."
Professor Darke said those who died as a result of a fight were more likely to have alcohol or cannabis in their systems, while heroin or methamphetamine were more prominent in those who died from gun shot wounds.
"If you are heavily addicted to a drug or involved in drug dealing, violence is often swirling about you, but we found in this study that the most common victims were men at the pub or on the street at night, or women at home."
Almost half of domestic violence victims had alcohol in their blood, 21 per cent tested positive to cannabis and 29 per cent had an illicit drug in their system, the study found.
"Usually a couple has been drinking at home and gets into a fight. They have access to knives in the kitchen and someone ends up dead," Professor Darke said.
"We often talk about the risks of overdose and disease when we think about illegal drugs [but] we also need to talk about the substantial risk of violent death.
"The message from this study is that people are taking great risks when they drink or take drugs, and it's not just from the substances themselves."
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FurrowedBrow
Free yourself from yourself



Registered: 10/26/06
Posts: 2,439
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Re: Most homicides linked to drugs, alcohol: study [AU] [Re: veggie]
#7443875 - 09/23/07 11:54 AM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Not one of the better articles.
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learningtofly
Ancient Aliens


Registered: 05/21/07
Posts: 15,105
Loc: Out of this world
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Re: Most homicides linked to drugs, alcohol: study [AU] [Re: FurrowedBrow]
#7444000 - 09/23/07 12:43 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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99% sure they didn't use the scientific method, meaning it's useless information that no legitimate study would even consider looking at.
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flamingcap
Hashassin



Registered: 07/23/07
Posts: 93
Loc: Outside, taking your shro...
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Re: Most homicides linked to drugs, alcohol: study [AU] [Re: veggie]
#7444057 - 09/23/07 01:09 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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The only drugs that would make you react in a stupid ass way enough to get you killed would be meth and alcohol. Cannabis shouldn't even be CONSIDERED as a reason for these people deaths, UNLESS they are in a dangerous drug ring, and even than, that's their fault, not the drugs.
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ROX
Traveling...



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Re: Most homicides linked to drugs, alcohol: study [AU] [Re: flamingcap]
#7444983 - 09/23/07 05:54 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
flamingcap said: The only drugs that would make you react in a stupid ass way enough to get you killed would be meth and alcohol.
Add PCP to that list.
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Quake3
Total Carbohydrate




Registered: 08/31/06
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Re: Most homicides linked to drugs, alcohol: study [AU] [Re: flamingcap]
#7445095 - 09/23/07 06:18 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Alcohol and PCP might, although PCP causing aggression and paranoia is questionable. Meth/coke wouldn't unless combined with alcohol maybe. Stimulant and nicotine withdrawal causes irritation/aggression/paranoia, but as long as you're on the drugs, you're fine.
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Diploid
Cuban



Registered: 01/09/03
Posts: 19,274
Loc: Rabbit Hole
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Re: Most homicides linked to drugs, alcohol: study [AU] [Re: veggie]
#7445269 - 09/23/07 07:04 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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I wonder how many of them were on prescription drugs at the time?
-------------------- Republican Values: 1) You can't get married to your spouse who is the same sex as you. 2) You can't have an abortion no matter how much you don't want a child. 3) You can't have a certain plant in your possession or you'll get locked up with a rapist and a murderer. 4) We need a smaller, less-intrusive government.
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