New research by the Penington Institute shows that drug overdoses are claiming the lives of around 189 Australians every month, more than double the national road toll.
Yet, the crisis remains largely hidden due to stigma and silence.
On Thursday afternoon’s episode of The Briefing, we talk to Penington Institute CEO John Ryan about what’s driving these deaths and why urgent change is needed.
“That’s the equivalent of a Boeing 737 full of people crashing every month,” Ryan said.
“But these deaths are happening in the quiet of suburban homes and rural towns. They don’t confront us like other tragedies,” he said.
Around 80 per cent of overdose deaths are “unintentional”, often involving a mix of prescription medication, alcohol or illicit drugs.
“It doesn’t mean they didn’t intend to consume something. They just didn’t intend to die,” he explained.
Ryan also highlighted stigma and secrecy as major issues: “Some families would rather say their loved one died by suicide than admit it was an overdose.”
He’s calling for more education and wider access to the life-saving drug Naloxone, or Narcan.
“It’s a miracle drug for opioid overdose. It’s safe, it’s available, but too few people know how or where to get it. We should be flooding the market with it.”
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