Summary

Description	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. The importance of noting the circumstances under which the body is found and the condition of the body to aid in establishing the diagnosis of death from narcotism is stressed. According to this presentation narcotic addiction which has been a problem for many years has increased markedly within the last twenty years. The two types of narcotic deaths being encountered at the present time are those who die from the effects of the drug and those who die as a result of violence. The correlation between the violence and the society in which the addict lives is explored briefly. Dr. Helpern notes that in 1930 heroin was mixe
Source	collections.nlm.nih.gov
Author	Helpern, Milton, 1902-1977., Emory University. School of Medicine., National Medical Audiovisual Center.

Licensing

Public Domain

Attribution: Helpern, Milton, 1902-1977., Emory University. School of Medicine., National Medical Audiovisual Center.