Total number of drug deaths in the Netherlands 2006-2021

In 2021, there were 298 drug overdose deaths were recorded in the Netherlands. The number of casualties was lowest in 2010, while 2021 represented the highest annual figure. In the last two years, a new record in drug deaths was reached.

 Opiates, cocaine and other dangerous drugs 

Many drug deaths in the Netherlands in 2021 were caused by opiates. Of the total 298 casualties in 2021, 150 died because of opiate use. By comparison, there were 72 cocaine deaths that year. This is also the highest number of cocaine-related deaths in the country in the past decade.

Cocaine use on the rise

 According to the Trimbos survey on drug use, cocaine use has increased in the Netherlands. Whereas in 1997, 2.6 percent of the respondents stated to have used cocaine at least once in their lives, by 2021 this had grown to 6.5 percent. Of the survey participants, 0.8 percent reported to have used cocaine in the past month, a slight change in comparison to earlier years as well.