SPECIAL REPORT: Party drugs you need to know about

WORDS: Corrine Barraclough PHOTOGRAPHY Matteo Badini, Cesar Wild, Elsa Donald, Altin Ferreira & Goashape Studio @unsplash

The Queensland government will be the second Australian jurisdiction to provide drug testing, following the ACT’s successful programme. So, what’s behind this decision? What are party drugs? What should parents be looking out for? And what is the problem that we’re up against across the Gold Coast

In February this year, Gold Coast hospitals reported seeing a spike in hospital admissions linked to the party drug GHB. Authorities said that patients were remaining unconscious for hours at a time, vomiting and having seizures.

Already overrun emergency departments across the Gold Coast were reporting as many as nine patients per day presenting with side effects relating to the use of the drug.

“We’ve had about 20 serious overdoses in the past couple of weeks,” Gold Coast Health’s Dr David Green, clinical director of emergency departments told the ABC. “There have been quite a number of intensive care admissions.” Many of these patients have been aged between 18 and 35 years old. Some groups of patients have been taken to hospital together, having taken the drug at the same time.

Warnings have been issued to the public that if they’re a recreational drug user and buying GHB (which is known as “fantasy”) it might actually be a far more lethal drug. Many are saying that it underlines the importance for pill testing in our State.

QAS senior operations supervisor Adam Flory said that patients had been “deeply unconscious, barely rousable, agitated and quite violent.” He reported that, in some cases, they had needed to involve police to help them control the patients.

GHB is the abbreviated name for gamma-hydroxybutyrate, which is known as fantasy or liquid ecstasy. It’s a veterinary anaesthetic agent used to sedate small animals.

The Alcohol and Drug Foundation states that it’s a depressant that works by slowing messages between the brain and body. It’s usually sold in small bottles or vials and is usually swallowed by users.

In January this year, authorities detected three new and deadly party drugs that had entered Australia. Following tests conducted last year, three chemicals as compounds were identified which imitate MDMA and ketamine.

Unfortunately, the discovery came as a teenager was in UCU after overdosing at a music festival in Victoria.

Discovering new drugs on the scene is nothing new. In 2022, new party drugs were discovered by a team of scientists at the Australian National University, at the CanTEST site in Canberra.

Professor Malcolm McLeod, who made the discoveries, said at the time that it was not yet known how dangerous the new drugs were.

“We don’t know how it will affect people or what the health consequences are,” Professor McLeod said. “While derivatives of these stimulants first emerged in New Zealand in the early 2000s, we actually don’t know a lot about them,” he said of the ketamine-like substance.

The government-funded CanTEST Health and Drug Checking Service offered free and confidential chemical analyses of illicit substances twice a week at a facility in Canberra’s CBD.

The six-month pilot programme was run by Directions Health Services, in partnership with Pill Testing Australia and Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy.

“The pilot aims to reduce drug-related harm in the ACT by helping the community avoid the unknown or potentially dangerous substances that can sometimes be appearing in illicit drugs,” Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said.

The establishment of the clinic followed two pill testing trials conducted at Canberra’s Groovin’ the Moo festival in 2018 and 2019.

The trial, which tested 170 substances, revealed seven pills people thought were pure MDMA contained n-ethylpentylone, a stimulant considered by some health authorities to be dangerous and which has been linked to previous festival drug deaths.

Every person told their pills contained n-ethylpentylone binned them.

What is a party drug?

Party drugs is a term used for a group of stimulants and hallucinogens   used by younger Aussies to enhance experiences at party events such as music festivals and clubs. This group includes – but is not limited to – MDMA (methylenedioxymphetamine).

That’s confusing, can you give an example? Yes, we’re talking about capsules (which will often be called ‘caps’ and pills, such as ecstasy).

Types of party drugs:

• GHB
• Marijuana (cannabis)
• Amyl Nitrite (poppers)
• Nitrous oxide (‘nangs’)
• Benzodiazepines (sedatives or tranquilizers, often used to bring the person down after they’ve been ‘up’.

What is a ‘pinger’?

Methylenedioxymphetamine (MDMA) is the chemical name for ecstasy, which is one of the drugs people most commonly take at music festivals. The term ‘pinger’ (or pinga), is thought to be an Australian creation used to refer to MDMA.

What is a ‘party favour’?

Usually an amphetamine, which is shared at a gathering.

How big is the problem?
Dozens of Australians become seriously ill or die after using party drugs each year. Every year, these incidents renew calls for pill testing at major festivals and events, so that people can become better informed about what they’re about to take. Often pills/tablets/caps may not contain any MDMA at all and may contain a wide range of other substances.

In Australia, MDMA/Ecstasy is also known as E, pills, caps, pingers, M&M, doopa, love drug, disco biscuits, XTC, X and eccy. “Party Drugs” is a term used to describe a range of illegal drugs sold as tablets (“pills”) or capsules (“caps”). MDMA is usually sold as a pill or capsule, although it can also come in powder or crystal form. When sold as a pill, a logo is typically stamped on the tablet, but this is no guarantee of quality or purity. For example, two pills that look the same may have very different effects as they can have different ingredients.

Analysis of drugs sold as MDMA/Ecstasy in Australia shows that these contain a wide range of substances, and some contain no MDMA at all. Some substances found in these drugs can be toxic, even at low doses, and even pure MDMA can be dangerous.

According to the 2022-2023 Australian Secondary Schools’ Survey, 1 in 100 students (1%) aged 12-17 used MDMA/Ecstasy in the past month.

What do party drugs/MDMA/Ecstasy do to the body?

MDMA/Ecstasy causes the body’s central nervous system to speed up. It can take effect within 60 minutes of initially taking it but this can vary. Sometimes people mistakenly think the first pill or cap they took isn’t working and take more — this can be very dangerous.

The effects of MDMA/Ecstasy can be immediate or long-term.

Immediate effects:

Enlarged pupils, Increased heart rate and blood pressure, Increased energy, Feeling of euphoria, Teeth grinding, Jaw clenching, Anxiety and panic attacks, Overheating and dehydration, A ‘comedown’, Nausea, vomiting, dizziness, Visual distortions, Paranoia, Psychosis, Seratonin syndrome, Stroke

Long term effects:

Addiction/dependence, Mental health issues such as depression, Impairments to memory and attention

GETTING HELP: If you are concerned about a loved one, you can find help and support. Call the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015 for free and confidential advice, information and counselling about alcohol and other drugs.