31st of July 2024, 6:45pm
Legislative Council of Victoria, Melbourne
David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan):
My adjournment is directed to the Minister for Mental Health, the Honourable Ingrid Stitt. The impact of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and nitazenes, has been devastating communities around the world. Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin, and nitazenes are up to 500 times more potent. In the United States synthetic opioids are the leading cause of death of individuals aged between 18 and 49 and were responsible for 70 per cent of the 112,000 drug-related deaths in 2023.
While Victoria is yet to experience the devastation these drugs have inflicted on other communities, the increasing number of large seizures in recent years suggests that it is only a matter of time.
Our health system is woefully underprepared to deal with the anticipated surge in synthetic opioid overdoses. Victoria needs to develop a plan in response to these risks as part of a statewide alcohol and other drugs strategy.
Happily, the outstanding team at the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association have teamed up with the equally brilliant Harm Reduction Victoria crew and done that very thing.
Their joint endeavour entitled “Keeping Victorians Safe: We Need a Potent Synthetic Opioids Plan” provides an excellent starting point for the development of an optimal response to prevent an overdose crisis, overwhelming our already stretched healthcare systems.
A potent synthetic opioids plan with detailed policies and measures for the implementation of a rapid community and healthcare response would ensure Victoria is prepared for the spread of these drugs.
One thing the plan acknowledges – and Legalise Cannabis Victoria is in furious agreement over this – is that the long-term prohibition of various substances has been a significant driver in the growth of a durable and highly profitable illicit drug market.
Prohibition does not restrict supply or demand and does little to reduce harm. A regulated drug market is the most effective way of dismantling the illicit drug market, thus diminishing the threat of potent synthetic opioids and other dangerous drugs.
So the action I seek is that the minister develop a potent synthetic opioids plan as part of Victoria’s alcohol and other drugs strategy to ensure the harms from the inevitable surge of potent synthetic opioids in Victoria are mitigated.
Written Answer
Received: 11 October 2024
Hon. Ingrid Stitt MP
(Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs)
I thank the member for Western Metropolitan Region for his question.
Every life lost to overdose is a terrible tragedy, and I recognise this has recently included Victorian lives lost to potent synthetic opioids. I also understand the risks associated with these drugs entering the drug supply chain at large, for example as we see currently in North America.
The Allan Labor Government is committed to preventing and reducing alcohol and other drug related harm in the Victorian community – and we proudly take a health-led, harm minimisation approach to reducing these harms.
These efforts have been supported by sustained growth in investment and action – with annual expenditure toward alcohol and other drug treatment services, supports and harm minimisation efforts more than double 2014 levels.
These investments support the Victoria’s drug surveillance programs. These programs use innovative methods like hospital toxicology and drug residue testing to look for emerging drugs, collecting new data every week – and are critical to our efforts to identify increases in potent synthetic opioid circulation.
The Department of Health works closely with our surveillance partners and issues drug alerts for the community when it becomes aware of toxic and unexpected substances circulating in Victoria.
We know that sophisticated approaches to drug monitoring are critical to producing timely and actionable public health information that supports Victorians to make safer choices. We are working with our health partners to continue to strengthen our surveillance programs to make sure we reduce harms from the illicit drug market.
As the member is aware, the Allan Labor Government has also committed to implementing both a mobile and fixed site drug checking service from this summer with enabling legislation before the parliament.
The service will be able to test most drugs in pills, capsules, powders, crystals, or liquid form.
In addition to facilitating the provision of important harm reduction information to reduce overdose risk, the mobile and fixed site drug checking service will also generate important data to feed into Victoria’s drug monitoring and alerts capability.
This important initiative comes on top of our previously announced a $95 million Statewide Action Plan (the Plan) to address and reduce drug harms.
This important Plan will provide greater access to vital health and social supports to people who use drugs, greater access to pharmacotherapy treatment – including Victoria’s first and Australia’s largest hydromorphone treatment trial – and increased access to the lifesaving medication, Naloxone.
The Plan is also supporting the expansion of outreach services across the Melbourne CBD, Footscray and Saint Kilda as well as a statewide trial of a overdose prevention and response helpline.
To help ensure that Victoria is well prepared to respond to both current and future challenges – including the threat of potent synthetic opioids, the Plan includes the appointment of Victoria’s first Chief Addiction Medicine Adviser, the establishment of a standing AOD Ministerial Advisory Committee, and the development of an AOD strategy.
And while still in the early stages of consultation, I also anticipate that the AOD Strategy will address the need for flexibility and responsiveness within the AOD sector as we continue to experience shifts in drug related risk and harm.
The government has been engaging directly with Victorian Alcohol And Drug Association and Harm Reduction Victoria on its recent paper. I continue to welcome expert advice on ways to strengthen our drug surveillance capability and review evidence on innovative harm reduction solutions.
[ENDS]
