A white powder sold in Melbourne as cocaine contains a potentially lethal opioid that is more than 100 times more potent than heroin, Victoria’s Health Department has warned.
On Tuesday morning, a drug alert was issued for cocaine contaminated with protonitazene, a type of novel synthetic opioid that authorities are increasingly seizing at Australian air and seaports. In May, The Age revealed a surge in nitazene seizures had sparked concerns among medical professionals, who fear it could trigger a wave of overdoses.
Authorities are seizing more cocaine than ever – yet Australia’s appetite for the drug continues apace.Credit: Getty Images
The Health Department said a white powder sold as cocaine that contained the opioid had caused “recent serious harms in Melbourne”.
“The product appears to produce strong adverse effects such as loss of consciousness, respiratory depression, and life-threatening hypoxia (insufficient oxygen for normal functioning),” the department said in a statement.
“Cocaine and protonitazene are very different substances. Cocaine produces stimulant effects, whereas protonitazene produces sedative effects and may lead to opioid overdose.”
The department said protonitazene had a potency more than 100 times that of heroin and suggested users carrying naloxone, a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose.
The Penington Institute, a public health research non-profit specialising in drug policy, also issued an alert on Monday to its drug harm reduction network across Australia about the protonitazene detected in Melbourne.
“This further reinforces the importance of the Victorian government’s decision to introduce an 18-month drug-checking trial,” institute chief executive John Ryan said.
The contaminated cocaine may be a health threat for thousands of Victorians as Australia’s cocaine use has skyrocketed recently.
In 2023, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission conservatively estimated the nation consumed more than four tonnes a year. This masthead recently reported more than a million Australians tried cocaine last year, making it our second-most-popular drug, after cannabis.
Meanwhile, the City of Melbourne last year said it would investigate setting up vending machines to dispense naloxone, which can be taken as a nasal spray and reverses the effect of an opioid overdose within two minutes by helping to restart a patient’s breathing before paramedics arrive.
Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco are among the growing number of cities around the world – particularly where fentanyl has taken off – that have made naloxone freely available via vending machines or kiosks in public places such as university campuses, outside police stations and in public squares.
Last year, the federal government launched a program to offer naloxone at no cost via participating pharmacies.
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