We commemorated International Overdose Awareness Day on the 31st of August, with the latest Australian statistics released by the Pennington Institute in their annual Overdose Report. Since 2001, there have been 42,526 overdose deaths in Australia. Of great concern, data from 2023 also highlights that overdose deaths have almost doubled in the last 20 years, now rising to more than 6 people every day.
The report suggests that 78% of overdose deaths were unintentional and avoidable, with greater investment in a range of Harm Reduction and peer led strategies including education, pill testing, medically supervised injecting rooms, Naloxone availability and drug law reform to ensure people feel safe enough not to isolate and seek support when they need it.
Along with overdose deaths from opiates like heroin that people are familiar with, the data also highlights the substantial increase in overdose deaths from stimulants and prescription medications, as well as other drugs including alcohol that continue to feature.
As Sarah, one of Odyssey’s Senior Clinician says,
“Every conversation we have with a person who uses drugs, is an opportunity for intervention. Every conversation we have with another professional is an opportunity to break down the stigma that continues towards people who use drugs, and stigma ultimately leads to people using alone, which leads to people dying.”