By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Rising numbers in the South East have been dying from drug overdoses over the past decade, according to a Coroners Court of Victoria report.
Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia statistics were in defiance of a slight statewide drop since 2018, according to the Victorian Overdose Deaths 2012-2021 report.
In Cardinia, there were 64 fatal overdoses between 2012-‘21, an average of six per year with a peak at 13 in 2021.
People dying from overdoses in Casey totalled 132, an annual average of 13 peaking at 20 in 2020.
There were 166 fatal overdoses in Greater Dandenong – an average of nearly 17 per year. It peaked at 24 in 2019 and 21 in 2021.
Greater Dandenong was among the highest in the state for heroin and methamphetamine fatal overdoses.
In 2012-‘21, 93 people died in Greater Dandenong due to a heroin-related overdose – the fourth most in the state.
Fifty-one fatal overdoses were related to methamphetamine – the state’s third highest – and peaking at 12 in 2021.
It mirrors a rise in ice-related fatal overdoses across the state, up four-fold from 34 in 2012 to 137 in 2021.
“Several LGAs including Melbourne, Greater Dandenong, Port Phillip and Brimbank show what appears to be an increasing trend over time,” the Coroner’s report stated.
“Given these LGAs are also among those with the highest numbers of heroin-involved overdose deaths, there may be a rationale here to consider harm reduction education and interventions in these areas that assist people who use a range of drugs.”
But pharmaceutical drugs – rather than illegal drugs – were involved in the most overdose deaths across Victoria in 2021.
They played a role in three-quarters of overdose deaths, compared to illegal drugs 50 per cent and alcohol 30 per cent.
Benzodiazepines (55 per cent), opioid painkillers (40 per cent), anti-depressants (35 per cent) and anti-psychotics (21 per cent) were the most common contributors.
There was a rise in fatal combinations of pharmaceutical and illegal drugs.
Victorian State Coroner John Cain said it remained concerning that 500 Victorians lost their lives due to overdoses last year.
“These deaths are preventable and it is critical that we improve access to supports, treatment and education.
“Drug-related harms are always shifting, in response to changes in drug use, availability and regulation. Through our data we can detect these shifts early and respond quickly, to save lives.”
