Spotlight on Overdose

Drug-related overdose impacts everyone. Each year, around 2000 people die of overdose in Australia. That means, a person dies of a drug-related overdose almost every 4 hours, while many more experience non-fatal overdose. 

Drug-related overdose impacts everyone. Each year, around 2000 people die of overdose in Australia. That means, a person dies of a drug-related overdose almost every 4 hours, while many more experience non-fatal overdose.

35,000

Approximate deaths in Australia in last 20 years due to drug overdose

2,000

That is about 2,000 deaths a year

5

That is about 5 deaths a day

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.

AIVL has produced a series of videos to highlight what we need to do to meet the challenges of overdose head on

Let’s not pretend this is someone else’s problem. Together we can change the lives of thousands of people and the many more who care about them. Keep the spotlight on overdose and help us end it.

Overdose doesn’t discriminate

Overdose and Young People

Peer-Based Organisations are essential to reduce the effects of overdose

How many more Australians do we need to lose?

Stay up to date with our newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.