About 46 percent of Alaskans who died violently over a 10-year period and who were tested for toxins had alcohol in their system, according to a Department of Health and Social Services epidemiology bulletin released Tuesday. Victims with toxins in their system were about twice as likely to test positive for alcohol than marijuana, according to the bulletin.
Between 2003 and 2012, the state identified 2,327 violent deaths, divided into categories that included death by self-harm, homicide or legal intervention, and unintentional firearm injuries. Toxicology samples were taken for a little more than half those victims.
When alcohol tests were taken, the substance was found 46 percent of the time, or in 576 victims. About 85 percent of those -- higher than the national average -- showed levels higher than the legal driving limit of .08 percent.
About 23 percent, or 268, tested positive for marijuana, and about 13 percent, or 153 victims, tested positive for opiates, the bulletin said.
The bulletin recommended that medical examiners routinely test victims for drugs and alcohol and determine if they were intoxicating or lethal.