A troubled young man, too many pills and a system unable to help

By Daniel Burdon and Alexandra Back
Updated January 22 2018 - 12:06pm, first published 12:00pm
A troubled young man, too many pills and a system unable to help
A troubled young man, too many pills and a system unable to help
  • This is part one of a three-article series looking into prescription drug abuse and the death of Canberra man Paul Fennessy. Scroll down for a five-episode podcast or touch here for a mobile optimised page   

Prescription drug overdoses now kill more Australians than car crashes. Here, in the first of a three-part series, we look at the story of one young man and the gaps in the health system that failed to prevent his death.

A troubled young man, too many pills and a system unable to help
A troubled young man, too many pills and a system unable to help

Paul Fennessy lay alone on the trampoline in his mother's backyard. It was a warm summer evening in Canberra and he wore a black singlet and pants. In his backpack was what had become of his life: toothpaste, deodorant, hair conditioner and a couple of packs of pharmaceutical drugs.

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