Whitby man found dead at home had taken illicit drug alongside prescription drugs

A man found dead at home had used an illicit drug alongside prescription drugs, a coroner concluded.

Anthony Morgan, 47, was found unresponsive at his home in The Paddock, Whitby, North Yorkshire, on April 24, 2024. He was declared deceased at 2.15pm. Assistant North Yorkshire Coroner Gillian Kane concluded that Mr Morgan died from a drug-related death.

In a Record of Inquest, the coroner said: "I accept the findings of the post mortem examination and toxicological findings which concluded that Mr Morgan's death can be associated with use of illicit drug etizolam noted in fatal levels on a background of prescription drug use, overall culminating in central nervous system depression and death."

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The medical cause of Mr Morgan's death was multi-drug toxicity.

Etizolam is a medicine used in Japan and India to treat anxiety, insomnia and panic attacks but is not licensed in the UK, according to the the drugs information website Talk to Frank. In the UK, etizolam has been classified as a Class C drug.

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