Revealed: Victoria’s worst drug overdose hotspots

Fatal drug overdoses have surged in Victoria, with deaths more than doubling in the past 20 years. See the areas worst hit by the scourge.

The number of deaths caused by unintentional drug overdoses in Victoria has more than doubled in the past 20 years, new data shows.

New figures from Penington Institute show that in 2021, 421 Victorians died as a result of an accidental drug overdose, more than doubling the 203 deaths two decades prior.

Regional and rural areas continue to record higher drug overdose deaths per capita compared to Melbourne, recording 6.6 deaths per 100,000 people, outweighing the 6.2 deaths per 100,000 people in Melbourne in 2021.

The rate of unintentional overdose deaths has also been higher in regional Victoria than in greater Melbourne every year since 2005.

Almost every region in Victoria recorded a jump in the amount of overdose deaths in recent years, with the Ballarat and Geelong areas seeing a massive spike in fatalities.

Mildura, Bendigo and Frankston are among the worst hit in the state.

Only the Warrnambool region recorded a decrease when compared to the 2012-2016 figures.

Penington Institute chief executive John Ryan called on the state government to address “one of the world’s worst public health crises” immediately.

“It is no exaggeration to talk about an overdose crisis. Overdose deaths in Australia have exceeded the road toll since 2014, and we see little to no action to demonstrably change this,” he said.

Unintentional drug overdoses continue to rise in Victoria. Picture: Joe Castro

“This is one of the world’s worst public health crises, with a devastating toll on individuals,

communities, and economies the world over. And yet, with the right interventions, overdose

deaths are preventable.

“This is why we need drug policy reform and greater overdose awareness in our communities.”

In Melbourne, the two drug types with the highest rates of involvement in unintentional drug-

induced deaths in 2021 were benzodiazepines and stimulants.

Benzodiazepines are depressant drugs which slow messages between the brain and body, while stimulants (which include amphetamines and cocaine) speed up messages between the two.

Nationwide in 2021, men accounted for 70 per cent of unintentional drug overdoses.

Originally published as Revealed: Victoria’s worst drug overdose hotspots