Our request
We ask medical examiners and coroners, starting with Miami-Dade County, to share yearly counts of deaths with ketamine found, grouped by the recorded cause or manner of death.
For each year and group, please report how many deaths were tested for ketamine, the number with a ketamine finding, and whether records indicate that medics or other medical staff gave ketamine.
Please define each category, identify the years and records covered, and keep untested, unknown, and not documented cases distinct; share only information that can be released safely.
Why it matters
A yearly count with clear testing information would help readers understand what local death records show beyond counts limited to overdose.
Separating a toxicology finding from a determination of contribution, and marking unknown information, would make the limits of the records clearer.
What good reporting looks like
- Use the office's established classifications and explain any changes over time.
- Keep deaths tested, not tested, and with unknown testing status separate.
- Do not infer medical administration or causal contribution when records do not establish it.