Drug induced deaths nearly doubled the rate of road fatalities in Australia

A Melbourne woman who lived with a drug addiction for 20 years says she is “incredibly concerned” with the rising use of nitazenes after four people were found dead in a Broadmeadows home.

Drug induced deaths have nearly doubled the rate of road fatalities in Australia with experts calling the rise of opioids a “nationwide health crisis”.

In a recent study, Penington Institute found 2356 people died from drug overdoses compared to 1276 who lost their lives to road traffic accidents in the last 12-month reporting period.

Despite opioids being the fourth most used drug, about 60 per cent of those overdoses involved the lethal substance.

It comes as four people were killed in June after taking cocaine laced with nitazenes, a type of synthetic opioid that is 1000 times more potent than morphine.

Plasterer Thomas Vale, 32, his girlfriend Carly Morse, 42, Adbul El Sayed, 17, and Michael Hodkinson, 37, were found dead in a Bicknell Ct home in Broadmeadows.

Tom Vale.

Carly Morse.

The Banyan Healthcare psychiatrist Dr Sampath Arvapalli said the soaring use of nitazenes was a “nationwide health crisis” and those struggling with dependencies were most at risk.

“Nitazenes can take a variety of forms, and so are often marketed as other drugs such as cocaine, heroin, MDMA or even vape liquids,” he said.

“However, the effects of nitazenes on the body can be catastrophic, and they carry with them an extremely high risk of overdose, especially when used alongside other substances.

“When mixed with a stimulant drug, such as cocaine or amphetamines commonly used as ‘party drugs,’ the depressant effects of opioids can be masked, and a user may not even identify that the drug has been tampered with, despite the adverse effects already occurring in the body.

“Conversely, those who seek out opioids regularly or form a dependency, may be caught off guard by these drugs as they are generally stronger than what they’re used to.

Synthetic opioid nitazenes emerged in Australia three years ago. Picture: Australian Federal Police

“Therefore, the risk of overdose is increased and can also happen from what may be considered very small amounts.”

Rebecca, 50, told the Saturday Herald Sun she lived with a heroin addiction for more than 20 years.

The drug and alcohol worker said her life changed when her partner died from an overdose.

“He was dead for five to seven hours when I found him, it was quite a horrific experience,” she said.

“It was the beginning of me going, I can’t keep doing this anymore. I don’t want my family to experience what I’ve just experienced.

“That’s when I realised I wanted to work in this area and it took another five years to get to a place where I was stable.”

Police at a house on Bicknell Court in Broadmeadows where four people were found dead. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Rebecca said she was “incredibly concerned” about the popularity of nitazenes.

“I’m glad they weren’t around when I was using,” she said.

“It’s a massive concern and it’s becoming a very big problem.”

This year, police have seized enough nitazenes to kill two million Australians with officers scrambling to stop the flow from 120 labs in China.

Experts fear opioid overdoses will only continue to rise, amid a concerning wave of synthetic-opioid laced drug hospitalisations this year.

The Banyans Healthcare founder Ruth Limkin said anyone who was struggling with substance use should seek help.

“Drug dependencies very rarely develop in a vacuum or exist on their own,” she said.

“A lot of the individuals we work with at The Banyans have underlying mental health conditions, and they turn to illicit substances as a means to cope with situations that feel out of their control.

“There is no safe amount of drug use, which is why early intervention and comprehensive treatment is crucial to supporting users towards a healthy future.”