It’s been revealed that the drug that caused a mass overdose in Perth yesterday is a common anti-nausea medication called hyoscine, which a group of backpackers snorted, thinking it was cocaine.
Nine people were taken to hospital from a house party in the suburb of Victoria Park, with one of the affected men calling the experience “terrifying“, and saying that he was “trying to scream for help“, but found he couldn’t move his mouth.
The group included travellers from France, Germany, Morocco and Italy. A French man and a German woman remain in a critical condition in induced comas, and another French man is now stable in hospital. A Perth doctor told the Guardian that they could have died if another housemate hadn’t called emergency services.
Hyoscine is a common travel sickness drug usually used in small quantities. However, because it works by disrupting neurotransmitters, in larger doses it can incapacitate someone, causing rapid heartbeat, dissociation, agitation and unconsciousness.
Some doctors consider hyoscine to be similar to rohypnol, in that it can be used as a date rape drug. Its abuse is apparent uncommon in Australia, which has led drug policy expert Professor Steve Allsop to suggest that it was not the only substance in the powder the backpackers snorted.
As [hyoscine has] been the main drug that’s been identified, I think it’s likely to be the active ingredient.
Unfortunately, there are sometimes other substances that aren’t always as readily identifiable which may exacerbate the effects of the drug.
It’s the worst mass overdose in WA history.
