Saint Stephen’s College students on Gold Coast believed to have overdosed on phenibut

THE Gold Coast private school students hospitalised after a mass drug overdose today are understood to have taken a “dangerous” Russian designer drug.

THE students hospitalised after a drug overdose at a Gold Coast private school are understood to have taken “dangerous” Russian designer drug phenibut.

A source close to the tragedy has told the Gold Coast Bulletin phenibut — an intoxicant considered potentially dangerous, first synthesised in Russia in the 1960s and easily available online — is what medicos and students are fingering as the cause.

“That is what they are saying it is,” said the source. “Obviously someone has brought it into the school.”

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The school has been rocked by the mass overdose. Picture Glenn Hampson

Phenibut reportedly has a poor safety profile, has long been regarded as potentially dangerous — and in some cases is highly toxic.

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The synthetic amino acid derivative has been around for more than 50 years but very little research has been conducted into its effects on humans — most likely because it’s classified as a nutritional supplement, not a drug, everywhere except Russia, the Ukraine, and Latvia.

Phenibut is derived from Gaba (gamma-aminobutyric acid) but unlike Gaba, has the ability to cross the blood brain barrier and enter the brain.

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Police at the scene following the overdose. Picture Glenn Hampson

Often sold under the brand names Noofen and Citrocard, the ‘untested’ supplement is extremely easy to buy online without a prescription as a nutritional supplement in powder or capsule form.

Referred to as ‘the Russian wonder drug’, phenibut is commonly used as a relaxant and marketed in the US as a dietary supplement designed to ‘help keep you calm’.

Phenibut is used to lessen anxiety, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorders, depression, stuttering and attention deficit disorders.

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Police Acting Inspector Tony Wormald and Ambulance Senior Operations Supervisor Patrick Berry at St Stephens College in Coomera after seven students were rushed to hospital after a suspected drug overdose. Picture Glenn Hampson

Unlike most other anxiolytic drugs, it’s also promoted as a nootropic drug, which implies that it can improve motivation, attention and concentration.

Users begin to feel the drug’s effects 80-90 minutes after taking it but they can kick in within 35 minutes if it’s taken on an empty stomach — and up to four or five hours later if taken on a full stomach.

Research indicates its effects vary wildly depending on the emotional state of the person taking it and whether or not it has been mixed with alcohol or THC.