The latest Drug Trends report from UNSW Sydney’s National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre reveals there were 1865 drug-induced deaths in 2019, with a shift to more deaths involving heroin than natural and semi-synthetic opioids.
Opioid dependence – and other problematic opioid behaviours in people with chronic pain – is associated with patient risk factors, rather than simply higher opioid doses, says a new report.
The NSW government has already ruled out five recommendations from the Ice inquiry, including pill testing and more medically-supervised injecting centres.
A review of more than 100 studies from around the world has shown that people who use opioids for extramedical reasons have significantly higher rates of mortality.
Tamper-resistant tablets prove less attractive to people who inject drugs, but have little effect on population level issues linked to overprescribing, overuse and harm of opioids, new research shows.
In a reversal of the heroin epidemic of the late 90s and early 2000s, older Australians aged 35 to 54 are now more likely to die from an opioid overdose, a new report reveals.