Netherlands National Drug Monitor - Research and Documentation ...

information is available, this is by no means always used to code the cause of death
in the official statistics. Differences like these can impair the comparability of data
between countries. Drug users sometimes die from causes other than an overdose.
These causes may even be independent of drug use, such as old age, or may be
related to it, such as a destructive lifestyle, or infectious diseases from injecting.
This total death rate among drug users is charted in longitudinal cohort studies that
‘follow’ drug users throughout the years.
There is no standard protocol for alcohol-related deaths. ICD-codes are found in
the international that are used to determine deaths related to alcohol use (WHO,
2000; Heale et al., 2002). These codes are used in this Annual Report where alcohol
use is explicitly cited as the cause of death. It is virtually certain that the data reflect
an underestimation of total alcohol-related deaths, because the role of alcohol use
in cause of death is not always recognised.
Collaborations
The NDM relies on the input of many experts. The executors of many local and national
monitoring projects, registering bodies and other organisations make their contribution.
The quality of the publications is ensured by the NDM Scientific Committee. This
Committee evaluates all draft texts and advises on the quality of the monitoring data.
The NDM is supported on thematic modules by the study group on prevalence estimates
of problem substance use and the study group on drug-related deaths.
Once yearly, the NDM publishes a statistical overview of addiction and substance use
and their consequences. This is the NDM Annual Report. This report is included in the
documentation that is presented to parliament annually.
Past and future drug policy
In 2009 drug policy in the Netherlands was subjected to an evaluative review (Van Laar
and Van Ooyen, 2009). This review focussed chiefly on drug policy in the 1995-2998
period, using data from the NDM Annual Reports. An independent advisory committee
subsequently submitted a recommendation about future drug policy (Drug Policy Advisory
Committee, 2009). In 2010 a new bill on drugs will be drafted.
1 Introduction
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