A new report shows too many Kiwis are dying from preventable drug overdoses, as New Zealand lacks the interventions to stop them.
The NZ Drug Foundation’s Executive Director Sarah Helm says the number of overdoses is shocking and New Zealand is not doing enough to stop them.
A report by the NZ Drug Foundation found around 46 New Zealanders die by opioid overdoses and around a dozen from the use of synthetic cannabinoids each year.
"The numbers are shocking and it’s unacceptable. There are proven interventions overseas that can help to prevent overdoses, but our drug laws don’t allow for them," Helm said in a statement.
She says there is evidence from countries including Australia and Canada that supervised drug consumption and harm reduction centres prevent deaths and provide support - similarly to the Needle Exchange.
Launched in the 1980s, the Needle Exchange is a world-leading harm reduction initiative funded by the Ministry of Health to provide drug users with needles and other equipment to support safe injecting practices to reduce the risk of health complications such as HIV/AIDS.
But New Zealand now needs to provide centres that further support drug users.
"We are now lagging behind on new harm reduction measures that are seeing huge success overseas," Helm says.
"If we want to stop people needlessly dying from preventable overdoses, we urgently need to investigate supervised consumption and harm reduction centres that are tailored to a New Zealand context."
Increased funding and availability of the drug naloxone, a medicine that reverses the effects of opioid overdose is a "complete no brainer", Helm says.
"The continued lack of availability for this lifesaving medicine for people who use drugs is infuriating. It’s an off the shelf lifesaver and it should be in the hands of anyone who is using opioids and their loved ones."
The Needle Exchanges have distributed this drug before and are the ideal channel to do so, Helm says, but proper funding has been "patchy".
The Drug Foundation purchased some naloxone after a fundraising drive in 2021 and are running a pilot programme to distribute the medicine through Needle Exchanges.
