Penington Institute, Author at Penington Institute

The Guardian: Melbourne has had Australia’s worst heroin addiction for years. Why can’t the city kick its habit?

CEO John Ryan spoke to Adeshola Ore from The Guardian about Victoria’s high per capita consumption of heroin, that it could be influenced by lower state government investment in opioid substitution treatment. “It’s relied on too few GPs to do too much work and no back up services to support them.” Read the full article in […]

The Age: ‘Canary in the coal mine’, Alert for deadly fentanyl shipments at our borders

Penington Institute’s CEO John Ryan spoke to reporter Melissa Cunningham from The Age about the risks of illicit fentanyl supply reaching Australia. “I think there’s a significant risk for Australia. The police detected 11 kilos of fentanyl last year and that is the canary in the coal mine because it means at least some traffickers […]

SBS Dateline: How Pam’s son unknowingly took a drug that killed him

As overdose deaths continue to climb in the US and Canada, driven by fentanyl and other synthetic substances in the unregulated drug market, a growing number of community groups are calling for safe supply. Penington Institute CEO John Ryan spoke to reporter Sophie Bennett about what implications the North American crisis might have for Australia. […]

Welcome commitment from Australian Government to improve patient access to essential medicines for opioid dependence treatment

Penington Institute firmly welcomes the announcement in the 2023-24 Budget that the Australian Government will commit $377.3 million dollars over 4 years to improving access to opioid dependence treatment medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). This commitment will significantly improve affordability and access to these essential medicines for tens of thousands of Australians. From […]

Announcement of the Passing of Emeritus Professor David Penington AC

Penington Institute’s namesake and patron, Emeritus Professor David Penington AC, passed away on 6 January 2023. Professor Penington was one of Australia’s leading public intellectuals and health experts. He courageously advocated for sensible policy in his roles as former chair of the National AIDS Task Force, the Victorian Premier’s Drug Advisory Council, and the Victorian […]