Narcotic abuse among homicide victims in Detroit.

A record of 751 homicides occurred in Detroit in 1973. An attempt was made to explore the relationship between narcotics and a random sample of these homicides. It was demonstrated that in the group studied, 43% were narcotic users. It is suggested that if one includes pushers and dealers (possibly victims of a "drug war"), people killed by addicts, and those cases where a narcotic might not be detected in the biological sample, the percentage of homicide victims associated with narcotics traffic could be as high as 60 to 70%. An investigation into the manner (executed, killed in a robbery attempt, etc) helps substantiate this suggestion. Finally, unlike the majority of homicide victims, ethanol is infrequently found in the victim using narcotics.