More medically supervised injecting rooms are needed across Melbourne, advocates say, as figures reveal overdose deaths remain at near-record highs. or signup to continue reading In 2023, 547 Victorians fatally overdosed - three fewer than the state's deadliest year on record in 2022 - according to an annual report released on Thursday by the Coroners Court of Victoria. About three quarters of overdose deaths occurred in metropolitan Melbourne, with a majority involving multiple drugs.
Diazepam, a sedative often used to treat anxiety, was the deadliest drug contributing to overdose deaths. Heroin accounted for the second-highest number of overdose-related deaths, but overall numbers decreased from 230 in 2022 to 204. Methamphetamines were the third-highest contributor.
The City of Yarra, which hosts a medically supervised injecting room in North Richmond, recorded 19 deaths - five more than the previous year. The City of Melbourne, where the state government abandoned plans to build a second injecting room in the CBD, observed a fall in overdose deaths involving heroin - from 24 in 2022 to seven in 2023. The Brimbank local government area in Melbourne's west recorded the second-highest heroin-related overdose deaths in 2023 with 14, a drop of five from 2022.
The Victorian Drugs and Alcohol Association said the data showed a clear need for more medically supervised injecting centres in high-risk areas across Melbourne, not just the CBD. Chief executive Chris Christoforou said .
