Three Kiwis die a week from preventable overdoses - report

Three New Zealanders die a week due to preventable drug overdoses with that number on the rise, according to new research by the NZ Drug Foundation.

The Drugs Overdoses in Aotearoa report was released on Saturday and found that close to 1200 people had died of an accidental overdose between 2016 and 2023.

Those between 45-55 were found to have the highest mortality rate and Māori found to suffer fatal overdoses at nearly 2 and a half times higher rates than non-Māori.

NZ Drug Foundation chief executive Sarah Helm said each of those numbers represents a person whose whānau, friend group and community has been ripped apart.

"These lives are worth as much as somebody who has lost their life in the ocean or on the road."

"I think New Zealanders will be appalled to see that the number of preventable overdoses in our country is continuing to increase. As a society we simply should not tolerate it. We’ve rightly spent millions of dollars to turn around our road and drowning tolls. We need to do the same for drug overdoses."

The report showed opioids such as morphine, heroin, codeine and fentanyl were the biggest contributor to overdose deaths, with almost half of all fatal overdoses involving an opioid.

This predominance along with the emerging threat of synthetic opioids such as nitazenes showed why increasing access to naloxone, an overdose reversal medicine, is crucial, Helm said.

"We need to get naloxone into the hands of the community – both to turn around this unacceptable number of overdoses, but also to prepare us for what’s coming with nitazenes making their way into our drug supply."

For the first time, the report also included data on non-fatal overdoses, showing that hospitalisations for drug poisonings had steadily declined over the past five years.

Helm said this was concerning as it was not matched with a decrease in fatal overdoses.

"It could be due to high potency opioids in the illicit market increasing the likelihood of death and decreasing the likelihood that someone makes it to hospital. It could also show that people aren’t seeking help when they need to."

She said it points to a need for a Good Samaritan law which would legally protect people seeking help for themselves or others.

"It is a straightforward way we can encourage people to get the help they need."

Overdose survivor Holly Beckham told 1News said she was handed something while out drinking one night.

"I didn't know what it was, but I did take it."

She continued drinking and in the early hours of the morning began to suffer seizures.

"My body had completely shut down, and I had to stay in hospital for a week because every hour or so I was continuously seizuring."

Beckham said the overdose was "scary" for her but more so for her friends and whānau.

"They're the ones that had to see me in that state and look after me."

Now five and a half years clean from drugs and alcohol, Beckham said she decided to get clean.

"I thought drinking and partying was the thing, I didn't know there was another way.

"The more we talk about it, the more we can bring it into the light and out of the darkness. Go out with people who love you and will surround you with looking after you."