Medicamentos psicoactivos: estudio de mujeres con intento de suicidio en un municipio del sur de Brasil

objective: to verify the access, availability and purpose of using psychoactive drugs in women's suicide attempts. methods: quantitative study, of a series of cases of 20 women attended at a poison control center (centro de controle de intoxica？？o). data collection was conducted by means of home visits, applying an interview guide. the results were analyzed by descriptive statistics. results: benzodiazepines were the most commonly used drug group (65%). depression was reported by 85% of women. the majority (90%) used psychoactive drugs, acquired by means of a prescription (95%), to be used in 30 days (45%). conclusion: although most drugs were acquired by prescription, it was evident that the easy access to the drugs and the large amount stored by women at home may indicate some relation with the suicide attempt.