[Misuse of psychotropic medications in a population of subjects held for custody in the city of Paris]. / Mésusage de médicaments psychotropes au sein d'une population de gardés à vue à Paris.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Identify which psychotropic medications are misused and peddled in a population of subjects held for custody in the city of Paris. METHODS: Subjects held for custody in the Medico-Legal Emergency Unit of the Paris Hôtel-Dieu hospital were examined and interrogated between March 2006 and March 2007 in order to assess their consumption of psychotropic medications. RESULTS: Sixty one of the 659 subjects (9.2%) interrogated were included in the study. Their main source of psychotropic medications was street dealers. The most frequently misused psychotropic agent was clonazepam (42.6%), followed by buprenorphine (30.65%) and methadone (21.3%). Clonazepam appears to have replaced flunitrazepam which now only comes in fifth position (11.4%). The finding that methadone is the third most misused drug should lead us to query this medication's dispensing method. CONCLUSIONS: Practitioners should remain vigilant regarding the potential misuse of psychotropic medications, particularly since they may induce severe undesirable events (addiction, neurological disorders, possibly lethal overdosage).