Deaths linked to online medicines prompt national study
July 21, 2026
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The addiction research institute Trimbos is starting an investigation into “self-medication”, people buying medicines online without consulting a doctor, it has told broadcaster NOS.
The study has been commissioned by health minister Sophie Hermans, who is worried about injuries and even deaths linked to medicines sold online.
Drugs bought online can be dangerous, according to Laura Smit-Rigter, national coordinator of drug monitoring and policy at Trimbos. “It could involve counterfeit medication,” she told NOS. “In that case, the dosage or composition of the product could be completely different. And that can be life-threatening.”
In 2025, two men who ran a webshop called Funcaps, which sold fake and illegal medicines to the general public, appeared in court in connection with the deaths of at least 27 people.
Funcaps sold a range of substances, among them bromazolam, a sedative, O-DSMT, an opioid painkiller, and 2F-ketamine, an anaesthetic. The products came with no package inserts or usage instructions, and sales were pushed with discount deals and sample packs.
Trimbos wants to find out how many people are buying medicines online and why they turn to the internet instead of going to their doctor.
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