00:00Synthetic opioids are opioids like many of the opioids that you've heard about, like
00:06morphine or heroin, but they're made in a lab.
00:09And the thing about these synthetic opioids is that they're very potent.
00:13So we had an alert that was released earlier this week for proteinidazine, which is estimated
00:19to be 100 times more potent than heroin, for example.
00:22Where are they coming from?
00:24So in general, we know that these often come from China, but they can come from other countries.
00:29We know that they're manufactured in labs, and because they're so potent, they can be
00:33shipped fairly easily around the world.
00:36And why would drug operators be cutting this into the product if it is so much more powerful?
00:44Why wouldn't they put in something that's benign?
00:49We don't have concrete information to understand this.
00:51There are a range of theories.
00:53Some people say it's been cut because it's cheap.
00:55It doesn't actually make a lot of business sense to cut your drugs with drugs that have
00:59the opposite effect and are likely to kill people.
01:01So another theory is that it's contamination, because often it's not just one drug that's
01:06made in a site.
01:08Okay, so it's really dangerous for drug users, right?
01:12It's permanently dangerous for drug users, but particularly dangerous now.
01:17Is it possible for drug users in Australia to get drugs analysed before they use them?
01:23So we know that very recently we've had announced in Victoria that we're going to have a drug
01:28tracking service.
01:29A fixed site service where people can go is probably still a year away, but we understand
01:33that there will be mobile sites that will be available in the summer festival season.
01:38We do know in Canberra as well as Brisbane there are already services that have been
01:42stood up.
01:44It would be great to see more of these, because at the moment we know with unregulated illicit
01:48drugs people just don't know what they're using.
01:51And so how many deaths have there been so far from this, as far as you can tell?
01:57Right, so it takes a while for these deaths to be, I guess, closed out so that we can
02:01count them in coroner's data, but we have had the Victorian coroner's announce earlier
02:05this year that they had 16 deaths already, plus these additional four that have been
02:10mentioned today.
02:11So just in Victoria alone that's 20 deaths, and all of those are quite recent in the last
02:16few years.
02:17Yeah, so it's terrible that there have already been those deaths, but are you concerned there
02:21could be a much more significant wave of deaths to come as a result of this?
02:26Absolutely.
02:27If these drugs become commonly available, the harm that we expect is going to be significant,
02:34particularly when we see these drugs contaminating drugs like MDMA and ketamine and cocaine.
02:41These are populations where people aren't used to taking opioids, and these are very,
02:44very strong opioids that have been found in those drugs.
02:48So it's not surprising that we are seeing these very tragic outcomes, and we are concerned
02:53about what's to come.
02:54And so what can be done to minimise the number of deaths?
02:59Well certainly as you've mentioned, drug checking is one strategy so people can know what's
03:03in their drugs before they take them.
03:05Naloxone is an opioid reversal agent.
03:08It's actually available without a prescription for free from the majority of Australian pharmacies
03:13now.
03:14This is something where if people think that they might be in the position where they could
03:17witness an overdose or might be using drugs themselves, to make sure somebody has naloxone,
03:23to have that, know how to use it, it's a very simple nasal spray to use.
03:28And that's a free and easily accessible thing that people can do to keep themselves safe.
03:33And of course calling an ambulance if they're concerned at the same time.
03:37So would you urge even occasional users of ecstasy and ketamine and cocaine to have naloxone
03:45handy in case their drugs are contaminated?
03:49That's the situation we're finding ourselves in now.
03:51With this alert that it was cocaine that was contaminated, you know if you're in Victoria
03:56right now you can't test your cocaine to know what's in there.
03:58So that would be a reasonable safeguard to take, to be having naloxone available, to
04:03know how to use it and to understand the signs of opioid overdose that you would be looking for.
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