Accidental drug overdoses in the Shoalhaven have almost doubled, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
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In the period from 2003-2007, 21 people died of an accidental overdose in the region. In the period from 2013-2017, 41 people died.
Health research organisation, the Penington Institute, says there has been an increase in overdose deaths across NSW, but regional areas were hit the hardest.
Their CEO, John Ryan, said the ice epidemic was one of the factors behind the increase.
"On average, a person in NSW dies every 15 hours because of an unintentional overdose," he said.
"One of the main culprits has been stimulants like ice. Five years ago, unintentional deaths from overdoses of stimulants started skyrocketing.
"Few areas have been hit as hard as regional New South Wales. You're twice as likely to die of an unintentional drug overdose in regional NSW today than a decade ago.
"Ten years ago, people were more likely to die of an unintentional overdose in Sydney than regional NSW. Today, that's completely turned around."
Mr Ryan said the other reason for the spike in overdose deaths in regional NSW was a lack of services, including addiction treatment facilities and lengthier ambulance response times.
