Save articles for later
Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.
A little blue pill with the imprint of a skull. An orange tablet branded with a Nike tick. A black powder that turns grey when crushed.
These are among the dangerous new street drugs, sometimes being sold as something they’re not, that have made their way into the Victorian community.
Metonitazene usually appears as a white, off-white or beige powder. It has been mis-sold as cocaine (pictured).Credit: iStock
“We’re seeing increasing amounts of novel psychoactive substances, which are sometimes much more dangerous than anything we experienced 10 or 15 years ago,” said John Ryan, chief executive of the Penington Institute, a leading drug policy group.
“Lots of people are talking about strange reactions to a drug that they’ve traditionally taken … suggesting it’s actually not what they were traditionally taking, but it’s been adulterated somehow.”
On Wednesday, a Victorian coroner again called for the introduction of public pill testing after a 26-year-old man died having probably taken an MDMA (ecstasy) pill known as the Blue Punisher at the Karnival Music Festival in Flemington in March last year.
It is the fourth time a Victorian coroner has called for a drug checking service since 2021. Together, the coroners had investigated eight deaths of men aged 17 to 30.
Pill testing – a harm reduction service that analyses the contents of the illicit drugs users intend to consume – is being trialled in Queensland and the ACT.
The Andrews government said on Wednesday it had no plans to trial pill testing, despite recent reports of more tainted or deceptively marketed drugs being consumed.
The Victorian Health Department recently warned that a synthetic opioid up to 200 times stronger than morphine, called metonitazene, had been mis-sold as cocaine, resulting in two serious hospitalisations.
A light orange “Kenzo” pill with a tiger on one side was being sold as MDMA or ecstasy but contained synthetic cathinones, which carry a heightened risk of negative side effects including paranoia and hallucinations, the department reported in May.
“Blood results from people reporting the use of MDMA, pills, speed and/or cocaine are more frequently showing synthetic cathinones,” a drug alert said. “There have been a number of recent emergency department presentations linked to these substances in Victoria, particularly in the Melbourne and Bendigo areas.”
There was also a warning to be “very cautious if you have recently purchased a black or grey powder sold as MDMA in Victoria”.
In findings released on Wednesday, coroner Judge John Cain said if the Victorian Health Department harboured concerns about drug checking services, it could consider following the ACT with a staged implementation. The ACT scheme began with trials at the Groovin the Moo music festival.
The call followed an inquest that heard friends of the man who died at the Karnival festival saw him taking a pill that resembled a Blue Punisher – a pill with the logo from the comic book Punisher on it and dangerously high concentrations of MDMA.
Blue Punisher pills have been found to have a much higher concentration of MDMA than normal.
The man was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with multi-organ failure and brain swelling, and he died four days later.
“It is impossible to know whether, had a drug checking service existed, [the man] would have submitted a sample of an MDMA pill for testing before taking it at Karnival,” Cain said in his findings.
“Notwithstanding this, a drug checking service would have at least created the opportunity for him to do so, and for him to receive tailored harm reduction information from the drug checking facility.”
On Wednesday, state Mental Health Minister Gabrielle Williams said the government had no plans to introduce pill testing as it embarked on other reforms, but “should there be evidence to suggest that there’s more that we need to do, of course as policymakers, we look at it”.
Mental Health Minister Gabrielle William says the government has no plans to introduce pill testing.Credit: Paul Jeffers
The minister said the Health Department monitored drugs with dangerous impurities circulating in the community.
“Our thoughts go out to the family of that young man. And of course, any death in these circumstances is one too many.”
The government declined to provide a direct explanation of its unwillingness to adopt the repeated recommendations from coroners to implement drug checking services.
A spokeswoman instead pointed to other harm reduction programs in which the government was investing, including peer educators at music festivals.
Opposition Leader John Pesutto also rejected the coroner’s call, arguing that more education, not pill testing, was the answer.
“We think green-lighting is a real problem and, like Victoria Police and others, we’ve got real concerns about that. I think the government shares that view, too.”
A Victoria Police spokesman said allowing pill testing was ultimately a matter for the state government. He said those caught producing, selling, or promoting synthetic, psychoactive substances could face prison time of up to two years.
Ryan said drug checking services would not be a silver bullet to prevent overdoses, but the growing presence of tainted or potent psychoactive substances meant the case for pill testing was higher than ever.
“I think there’s enough evidence from international experience to say that we can just move to it immediately. It’s not as if people are not taking drugs already that are risky.”
Get the day’s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter here.
Most Viewed in National
From our partners
Source: Read Full Article