A new class of synthetic drugs is contributing to fatal overdoses in Victoria, according to a coronial analysis of drug deaths during the past decade.
The Victorian Overdose Deaths report found 4551 people have died from drug overdoses in the state between 2011 and 2020.
Men were twice as likely to die of an overdose than women, according to the report, with 35-54 year olds most at risk.
The report identified a new trend in lab-made narcotics called "New Psychoactive Substances" (NPS) which contributed to 33 fatal overdoses in 2020.
"The data highlights the urgent need for appropriate harm reduction interventions to mitigate the risks associated with NPS use," the Coroner's Court review states.
NPS are designed to replicate the effects of other well-known illegal drugs such as cannabis, MDMA and cocaine, or pharmaceuticals such as benzodiazepines and opioids.
Some of the drugs are so new they have only been on the market for a matter of weeks or months.
Given the rapid rise of NPS, their effects have not been well studied and there is some uncertainty about their impact in fatal overdose cases.
NPS use may have increased during the pandemic, the report suggests, or the higher number of NPS-related deaths could be due to increased forensic detection.
Previous coronial inquests into deaths involving NPS have called for the development of a drug early warning network and a drug checking service.
More broadly, pharmaceutical drugs such as benzodiazepines played a role in more than three quarters of fatal overdoses in 2020, while illegal drugs were involved in half of all cases, and alcohol was a factor in 30 per cent.
The anticonvulsant and anxiety drug Pregabalin has also emerged as a frequent contributor in deadly overdoses.
The report did have some good news, with a slight decline in overall deaths since 2018.
While drug experts had been concerned that the impacts of the pandemic might exacerbate drug-related harms, this has not been the case so far, with an increase of 10 overdose deaths (1.9 per cent) between 2019 and 2020.
Deaths from heroin decreased by 12 per cent to 187 between 2019 and 2020, while fatal overdoses involving methadone fell also.
However, deaths from cocaine, MDMA and GHB overdoses all increased in 2020 to reach ten-year highs.
The State Coroner, Judge John Cain, said making fatal overdose trends public would give alcohol and drug workers access to critical information.
"Trends in drugs involved in overdose deaths are always changing, which highlights the need for timely data and policies that reduce harms," he said on Thursday.
The report is the first of a planned series of public releases by the Coroner's Court aimed at supporting drug harm reduction efforts.
