Penington Institute report reveals more Geelong residents are dying from accidental drug overdoses

More Geelong residents are dying after accidentally overdosing on drugs, new data has revealed.

Pennington Institute chief executive John Ryan.

More Geelong residents are dying after accidentally overdosing on drugs, according to a new report.

Pennington Institute’s annual overdose report found unintentional drug overdose deaths in Geelong increased by 56 per cent from 60 in 2008-2012 to 94 in 2018-2022.

From 2013-2017 to 2018-2022, deaths rose by 10 per cent.

The data, released on Sunday, revealed 94 people had died in the past five years in Geelong after an accidental overdose.

It also showed Geelong recorded 179 unintentional drug overdose deaths from 2013 to 2022, the highest in any Victorian region, followed by Dandenong (169 deaths) and Port Phillip (164 deaths)

Opioids were detected in 110 of those local deaths while alcohol was found in 51 and stimulants in 49.

Pennington Institute chief executive John Ryan said it was “extremely concerning” that Geelong has recorded more unintentional overdose deaths than any other area in the state.

“Even taking into account population adjustments, Geelong’s nine deaths per 100,000 people is disturbingly high and one of the most concerning figures in the nation,” he said.

The report also found regional Victoria had a higher rate of unintentional overdose deaths than Melbourne since 2005.

There were 544 deaths in 2022 in Victoria, up from 427 in 2021.

Mr Ryan said more than 42,000 Australians have died from drug overdoses since 2000.

“That’s more people than would fit into GMHBA Stadium,” he said.

“I’m tired of seeing overdose numbers in this country rise year upon year.

“It is so distressing to think of the increasing number of people and families consumed by this tragedy every year.”

Mr Ryan said there was a misconception overdoses are an issue that only happens in the back lanes of Melbourne but this new data reveals it is a problem occurring everywhere.

“More than six Australians lose their lives to overdose every day,” he said.

“We really need to devote more resources and support (to the issue).

“Governments have shown a capacity to take action to reduce deaths relating to some

drugs – drink driving rules, plain-label tobacco packaging – but the inaction around

reducing overdose is deplorable.

“We simply must come up with a national strategy to counter overdose, and we must do it now. Enough is enough.”

Originally published as Penington Institute report reveals more Geelong residents are dying from accidental drug overdoses