The Gold Coast Bulletin

OVERDOSES ON RISE

- KIRSTIN PAYNE kirstin.payne@news.com.au

THE number of people dying from drug overdoses on the Gold Coast has increased 75 per cent in the past decade.

Figures released today in Australia’s Annual Overdose Report show 245 Gold Coasters died from drugs from 2012 to 2016, 105 more than in the 2002-2006 period.

Experts said the fast-growing killer was prescripti­on drugs that include codeine, oxycodone and fentanyl.

THE number of people dying from drug overdoses on the Gold Coast has increased 75 per cent in the past decade.

Figures released today in Australia’s Annual Overdose Report show 245 Gold Coasters died from drugs from 2012-2016, 105 more than the 2002-2006 period.

Surprising­ly, experts said the fast-growing killer was prescripti­on drugs.

The report by the Pennington Institute showed the Coast drug death toll for 2012-16 was 9.6 deaths per 100,000 people, second only in Queensland to the region that includes the Central Queensland and the Sunshine Coast.

Nationally for the period, 7334 people lost their lives to drugs.

“From 2001 to 2016, the drug type claiming the most lives (on the Gold Coast) is unsurprisi­ngly opioids such as codeine, heroin, oxycodone and fentanyl,” said Penington Institute CEO John Ryan.

The number of deaths involving sleeping and anxiety tablets, known as “Benzos”, doubled in just a decade.

Dr Kevin McNamara, the medical director of mental health and specialist programs at Gold Coast University Hospital, said addiction to prescripti­on opioids was prevalent.

“Our emergency department sees overdoses regularly and certainly in outpatient­s, every day we see opioid dependant individual­s,” he said.

“We see very fewer new heroin addicts now, we are more likely to see drug dependent people on prescribed or on-sold pills.

“There are two ways people get these pills. It is go to a doctor and spin a bit of a story, or get them by an on-seller. We call that diversion.”

Nationally, the prescripti­ons for opioids have jumped from 10 million in 2009 to 14 million today.

Dr McNamara said steps were being taken to tighten regulation­s to ensure the city was not moving towards a US-like drug crisis.

“We are focused on education of GPs when it comes to prescribin­g opioids, we are also the first to introduce an opioid stewardshi­p program to ensure the right amount is prescribed at the right time,” he said.

Lives Lived Well group manager clinical services Julie Fox said “addiction is a community problem, not a sector or drug specific problem that we need to address”.

Detective Superinten­dent Kerry Johnson said the drug situation on the Gold Coast was not dissimilar to that facing the rest of the nation.

“Methamphet­amines are our biggest issue,” Supt Johnson said. “The Gold Coast police also regularly investigat­e the on-selling of prescripti­on opioids.”

If you need someone to talk to phone Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Australia