Scientists at a CanTEST, a drug-testing service in Canberra, found meth in a diet pill that was bought online. At a time when more and more teens are buying weight loss pills, it’s a concerning discovery.
The diet pill, which had an orange and grey capsule, was supposed to to contain phentermine, which is a drug commonly subscribed to treat obesity. You might know it as Ionamin, although it’s sold under lots of different names.
It works as an appetite suppressant, and in Australia requires a prescription.
A concerned parent brought the pill in to be tested because a young person who had taken them was acting in a concerning manner.
“They noticed more signs of aggression and a heightened state,” Director of treatment services at Directions Health Services Steve Imrie said, per ABC News.
“Certainly not what they’re anticipating with the weight loss pill.”
Once the pill was tested, the only active ingredient that came up was actually methamphetamine.
The pill was discarded, but Imrie aired concerns about the online drug market and urged people who purchase drugs online to get them tested. If you’re not in Canberra though, this is hard to do — the ACT is the only state with a permanent drug testing facility.
CanTEST Coordinator Steph Tzanetis told ABC Radio Canberra that the diet pill was not bought from the dark web — just the normal internet.
Tzanetis warned that phentermine is a stimulant like methamphetamine, though not as potent. Still, if you’re experiencing side effects of a diet pill that line up with a stimulant overdose (overheating, confusion, agitation), seek help and get those pills checked.
If there’s a pill testing site near you, know that they don’t only test illicit drugs — you can also check pills like steroids and other performance enhancing drugs, or weight loss pills, sleeping pills, image enhancing pills like ones for your hair, etc.
And if you don’t have a pill testing site near you, then now’s a good time to send an angry letter to your government representative about it. Pill testing saves lives, so let’s make it happen.
