Narcotic Deaths

Forensic Medicine Outlines

The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the types of narcotic deaths and drugs encountered by Dr. Milton Helpern in his post as Chief Medical Examiner for New York City and to describe internal and external body changes resulting from narcotism. This objective is achieved with the use of photographs of overdose victims and the equipment found and used by addicts. According to this presentation narcotic addiction which has been a problem for many years has increased markedly within the last twenty years. The use of amphetamines and marijuana is discussed briefly and the equipment used by addicts is described and illustrated. Dr. Helpern then shows photographs of overdose victims and describes the circumstances under which the body was found.