A DISTURBING IMAGE THAT SAYS SO MUCH..! – A grim photo taken in Melbourne has sparked concern after it showed a woman suffering an alleged overdose lying unconscious in the street.
A grim photo of a woman who had overdosed on the street has highlighted Melbourne‘s deepening drug crisis.
A member of the public called an ambulance before they snapped the photo and shared it to a Facebook group opposed to Melbourne’s only injecting room, which is located in the northern part of the suburb of Richmond, about 3km from the CBD.
The woman had been found lying unconscious on the concrete in the same suburb of Richmond about 2pm on June 11, just 2km away from the North Richmond Community Health Medically Supervised Injecting Room.
‘Triple-zero called, witnessed by children, everything is fine according to a few (people),’ the caption to the picture read.
The location where the woman was passed out is also next to a public housing block that had recently been engulfed in a fire, with reports that some people had been squatting inside the units before the blaze.
Anti-social behaviour, including public drug use, was prevalent in the area, one resident told news.com.au about the incident.
‘The crime around here is extraordinary,’ they said.
While many felt the photo highlighted the dangerous situation for drug users in one of the country’s heroin hotspots, others said they didn’t have time for those who chose to indulge in the illicit vice.
+2
View gallery
A grim photo of a woman overdosed on the street has shown Melbourne’s deepening drug crisis
‘Don’t care about what that individual is going through, (but) care about the safety of the community and all the businesses that are dying just so addicts have a place to use their illegal drugs,’ one person argued online.
‘There is always one person who has to feel sorry for them and doesn’t care about kids having to witness this,’ a second said.
‘Absolute disgrace, no respect for themselves or their community,’ a third said.
Some also criticised the poster for sharing the photo.
‘Imagine seeing somebody suffering and posting a picture of them online … get some Narcan and a moral compass,’ one said.
‘I came across a person once in this situation, but I gave them Narcan and called the ambulance, rather than pull out a phone and take a photo to post on Facebook,’ a second agreed.
This isn’t the first time the drug Narcan, also known as naloxone, which can reverse an overdose and save someone’s life, has been linked to the area around the clinic.
Footage was previously shared of a man in a similar situation outside the Lennox Street public housing flats, which are next to the injecting room.
Join the discussion84 comments
Should Melbourne keep its injecting room if drug use and crime in the area are getting worse?
+2
View gallery
The woman was seen lying unconscious on a footpath about 2km from the North Richmond Community Health Medically Supervised Injecting Room
A woman in the footage injected a needle into the man’s neck who then stumbled and struggled on the ground.
‘He just had a whack of pure heroin, I shouldn’t have given it to him, f***’, the woman said, before she asked if anyone had ‘any Narcan?’.
Victoria’s Chief Addiction Medicine Advisor Dr Paul MacCartney explained how Narcan was used.
‘Naloxone is a simple, easy‑to‑use medication that can reverse an opioid overdose and save a life,’ he said.
‘Overdoses can happen in a range of circumstances, which is why we encourage family, friends and anyone likely to witness an overdose to carry naloxone and be ready to use it in an emergency.
‘You can use naloxone even if you’re not sure whether someone has taken opioids – so if you suspect an overdose, give naloxone and you should always call triple-zero.’
The North Richmond injecting room has recorded more than 650,000 visits and managed more than 12,500 overdoses without a recorded death.
