Results revealed that in both populations, two-thirds of the deaths were caused by drugs, and alcohol was detected in approximately half of these cases. Antidepressive and neuroleptic drugs predominated in the cases from Oslo, while poisoning with Dextropropoxyphene was the most common cause of death in the cases from Aarhus. Barbiturate overdose was seen more frequently in cases investigated in Aarhus than in Oslo, but in both countries intoxication with these drugs declined during the period surveyed. The number of cases in which the person had been a drug addict was similar in the two countries. The cause of death among Norwegian addicts was mainly heroin or morphine, while most of the Danish drug addicts died from an overdose of a legally approved drug. Figures, tables, and 15 references