Australia is losing one person to a drug overdose every three and a half hours. New figures from the Penington Institute show more than 2,500 Australians died from drug-induced causes in a single year, the deadliest year on record. CEO John Ryan says the toll is now almost double the national road toll, and frontline workers warn the illicit drug market is becoming more unpredictable, with addiction affecting people from all walks of life.
Listen to Australian and world news and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT
Lisa Moor knows how easily addiction can become a matter of life and death.
The Sydney woman spent 16 years addicted to heroin before finding recovery.
“You don't think it would happen to you and then, I have overdosed a lot I have overdosed so much that I have two permanent cysts on my brain from all the overdosing that I've done.”
She says deaths in the addiction community have become so frequent, they barely register as shocking anymore.
“Somebody is always dying - its sort of become like a little bit like you get a little bit used to it, which is so sad to say you know.”
It's a grim new milestone.
Figures released by the Penington Institute suggest more than 2,500 Australians died from drug-induced causes in 2024, making it the deadliest year on record.
Penington Institute CEO John Ryan says overdose deaths are now almost double the national road toll.
“Well we're seeing double the number of people dying from overdose than what are dying on the road toll. So the scale of the problem is huge and it's effecting people from all parts of the country and from all age groups and all socio economic backgrounds.”
Researchers say while opioids remain the biggest contributor, harms associated with stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine are also increasing.
“We are seeing rising harm relating to stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine. Globally we're seeing rising availability of these substances and in Australia we're seeing reports of rising use of these substances and rising harm as well, including increased hospitalisations and death”
Frontline treatment workers say the illicit drug market is becoming increasingly unpredictable.
The Salvation Army's Foundations Central alcohol and other drugs day program treats around 250 people a year.
Senior case worker Bill Kostakidis says many people simply don't know what they're taking.
“They don't know what they're taking and they dont know they are at greater risk of overdosing on fentanyl so somebody who is injecting meth is not thinking they're going to overdose, where as they could quite easily do so with the fentanyl, they're at greater risk when it's laced with fentanyl.”
NSW Health recently warned six people were hospitalised after using what they believed was cocaine but which contained opioids.
Associate Professor Amy Peacock from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre says wider access to naloxone - a medicine that can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose - could help prevent overdose deaths.
“But this requires people to be aware of take home naloxone for it to be in stock and for people to be able to access it so in terms of moving forward and addressing those barriers around accessing take home naloxone and also looking to engage a broader population of people who use drugs particularly as we hear of reports of drugs such as stimulants - cocaine and methamphetamine containing opioids unexpectedly.”
John Ryan argues Australia continues to spend significantly more on law enforcement than harm reduction and treatment.
“We've continued to fund law enforcement at two-thirds of the drug budget and giving hardly any money to harm reduction or safety initiatives and if you keep ignoring the evidence and do business as usual it's only logical and inevitable that the overdose toll will climb and that's what we're seeing.”
Reverend Bill Crews, who has spent more than 50 years running frontline charity services for people facing homelessness and addiction, says the figures should be a wake-up call.
“The number of deaths by drug overdose exceeding car smash deaths is a huge wake up call, the last time it happened was in the 1990's. A legalistic approach to drug taking only makes the issue worse. We need to change tactics, look at drug usage as a health issue rather than a legal issue and then we will begin to make the problem less intractable.”
For Lisa Moor, the message to anyone struggling with addiction is simple.
“I would say to them that there is a way out, I know it doesn't seem like it right now but there is a way out and my best suggestion is to do a long term rehab or to maybe try a meeting or reach out for help.”
Listeners seeking support can contact the free National Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline for advice and counselling on 1800 250 015.
