IN AN effort to tackle Australia’s alarming drug overdoses crisis, Victorian Police have partnered with Greater Shepparton City Council’s Word and Mouth once again to educate and warn young people of the dangers of drugs, especially ice (crystal methamphetamine).
According to the latest statistics, the number of Australians dying from unintentional overdoses has skyrocketed by almost 38 percent in recent years. Fuelling this shocking rise is a nearly 3-fold increase in unintentional deaths involving stimulants since 2012, a 2.4-fold increase in unintentional heroin overdose deaths and more than double the amount of unintentional deaths involving benzodiazepines.
Locally, the number of overdose deaths in Shepparton has doubled in the last ten years, with 12 overdose deaths reported for the 2003-07 period and 24 overdose deaths reported for 2013-17; the majority of those the result of ice abuse.
Word and Mouth project manager, Jim Gow said, “This project is an important investment into the future of our young people locally. This is our sixth year of educating our young people around the dangers of the horrific drug.
“We continue to engage young people in schools, and have great relationships with all the local schools and alternative education settings.”
In the six years Mr Gow has been conducting these tours, he has visited in excess of 8,000 people from Greater Shepparton and other regions nearby.
Starting this week, Word and Mouth and Victoria Police will visit several education settings to spread the word about the issue of drug overdoses in Australia.
For more information about the great work offered by Word and Mouth, visit www.wordandmouth.com.au
