Spotlight on Overdose

The majority of overdoses involve opioids and/or benzodiazepines.

Many overdoses happen because of stigma, discrimination and the criminalisation of people who use drugs because people who use drugs alone, sometimes after periods of abstinence or reduced use. The drugs being used are of unknown purity, and some contain unknown and harmful substances. People overdose because they use more than one drug at a time or they use more of a drug than they would if they felt safer carrying them.

The good news is that…

The good news is that thousands of people who use drugs have been trained to use naloxone, a medication that is safe, easy to use and highly effective at reversing opioid overdose. There are also many peer programs and services providing overdose prevention education, support and response at festivals and nightclubs.

With resourcing to run drug consumption facilities, drug checking services, naloxone and overdose response training across the country, many more fatal and non-fatal overdoses could have less of an impact on people who use drugs or be prevented altogether. Ending the criminalisation of people who use drugs will allow many more people to reach out for support.