Latest ambulance surveillance data has revealed escalating alcohol and drug harm with ACT paramedics responding to nearly 4000 substance-related callouts in a single year.
According to Australia's Annual Overdose Report 2026, published by the Penington Institute, the ACT recorded 28 unintentional drug-induced deaths in 2024.
Long-term metrics highlighted a growing fatal overdose rate in Canberra, which rose from 4.8 per 100,000 residents between 2010 and 2014 to 6.7 between 2020 and 2024.