“One was from a mixture of benzodiazepines and methodone – valium-type drugs,” he said. 

“The other was fentanyl – it is just so incredibly powerful that it does tend to overdose people on its own.”

Fortunately those involved in both cases were resuscitated.

Dr Fisher, a clinical nurse consultant at Albury Wodonga Health, spoke out on International Overdose Awareness Day on Wednesday to underline the danger of prescription medication abuse.

“It’s a chance to bring it into the daylight,” he said.

“What’s causing the majority of overdoses – and that’s categorically prescription narcotics like morphine, oxycontin and fentanyl.”

Dr Fisher works regularly with users on the Border to work out ways to manage their addiction.

He said it was important for anyone with someone who overdoses to not hesitate in calling triple-0.

“If you call an ambulance, it doesn’t mean the police are going to come and arrest you,” he said.

“They’re not interested in that, they’re interested in the ambulance people saving lives.

“We’ve got to get that message clearly across.”

The day also serves as a reminder to inform the wider health community, including general practitioners, about the responsibility which comes when prescribing painkillers. 

Dr Fisher said overdoses on the Border had decreased over recent years and he attributed that to GPs being more informed about the dangers of over-prescribing.

“Because the drugs that we’re talking about are mainly coming originally from prescriptions,” he said.

For example, Dr Fisher said an addict could be a tradie who suffered an injury playing footy who in turn found prescribed drugs helped with an anxiety problem.

During an overdose a person’s respiratory system gets depressed which can lead to a deadly cardiac arrest, according to Dr Fisher.

Overdoses don’t usually occur on one drug alone but through a combination of many, which Dr Fisher said was “a fatal recipe”.

“The main route of overdoses will be intravenous, because it’s such a direct route into the body as opposed to orally,” he told The Border Mail.

“People do overdose on oral drugs but by far the most common route of use for overdose is intravenous on top of other drugs they may of taken orally.”

For help, contact Albury Wodonga Health on (02) 6058 4444.