More notifications from the Slovenian Early Warning System

Our colleagues from the Alliance of Non Governmental Organisations for Drugs and Addictions from Slovenia forwarded us more information from the Early Warning System on new psychoactive substances (NPS).

Four different ecstasy pills with a very high MDMA content were detected in Maribor, namely blue Punisher (284 mg MDMA), pink Red Bull (213 mg), brown Pharoh (197 mg) and green Shell (171 mg) pills. Punisher’s blue ecstasy was also detected in Ljubljana and appeared in Slovenj Gradec.

Also, pink ecstasy pills and three other strong ecstasy pills with a very high content of MDMA have recently been detected in Ljubljana.

Literature indicates that the “acceptable” dose of MDMA is 1 – 1.5 mg/kg of body weight. That means that for a person who weighs 60 kg the dose is 60 – 90 mg. In quantities greater than 120 mg, the possibility of complications due to MDMA ingestion is increased (nausea, vomiting, cramping, restlessness and paranoia, severe motor disorders, headache, panic attack, high blood pressure, increased sweating, loss of consciousness, overheating of the body, etc.). 200 or more mg for many people means at least twice the dose in which the adverse effects are greatly increased.

At doses higher than 400 mg, the possibility of death overdose is greatly increased.

Besides MDMA pills, a fake LSD pill was also offered in Maribor. It actually contains synthetic pseudelic 25B-NBOMe, for which little information is available. Users describe that 25B-NBOMe has a hallucinogenic effect already in very small quantities and is very difficult to use safely. They also present a number of side effects, such as: tongue and mouth, nausea, increased heart rate, high blood pressure, agitation, confusion, seizures, fever. A lot of cases of poisoning and fatalities are associated with substances from the group 25-NBOMe. Therefore, extra prudence and compliance with the recommendations for harm reduction are recommended.

Due to the likelihood that these pills will occur in other places around Slovenia and in neighbouring countries, users are advised to use them caution and contact anonymous testing service wherever available.

The samples were collected at the info points of the DrogArt Association in Maribor and Ljubljana within the service of anonymous testing of psychoactive substances. The samples was analysed at the National Laboratory for Health, Environment and Food.

Drogart advices 6 ways to decrease the possibility of complications when using pills:

  • Always check which pill you have.
  • Try to find as much information as possible about the content of the pill and effects (for example, people who know this pill read current user reports and alerts on the Internet). But be careful – the same look does not necessarily mean the same content.
  • Test the tablet before testing.
  • Start with a quarter or at least a half and wait two hours to see what the effects are.
  • If you decide to redisplay, be careful. This puts more and more burdens on the body, as well as negative effects.
  • Do not mix with other drugs (including alcohol), as this increases the likelihood of complications and overdoses.
  • Drink enough liquid (but not more than 0.5 l per hour), soak enough rest and fresh air.

Fake xanax pill and cocaine with a high content of levamisole

Several civil society organisations in Slovenia are involved in the Early Warning System, mainly through anonymous drug testing – in Ljubljana: DrogArt and Stigma, in Kranj: Labirint, in Koper: Društvo Svit, in Nova Gorica: Šent, in Celje: JZ Socio, in Maribor: DrogArt and Zdrava pot, in Ptuj: ArsVitae. The new DPNSEE member organisation Alliance of Non Governmental Organisations for Drugs and Addictions from Slovenia sent us an information about drugs. We shall keep publishing these information. South East Europe is very connected region. We invite other our member organisations to share such information because they can be of use for others.

Within the framework of the Early Warning System on new psychoactive substances (NPS) in Slovenia, fake xanax pills and cocaine with high levamisol content were detected in Ljubljana and Maribor.

The results of the analysis, made in the National Laboratory for Health, Environment and Food, showed that the white rectangular tablet with a xanax sign (the one discovered in Maribor is shown at the photo) contains a substance called etizolam instead of alprazolam, while the one found in Maribor contains prometazin and ciproheptadin, medicines used for curing respiratory diseases.

Etizolam belongs to the group of benzodiazepines and is used as an anti-insomnia and anxiety agent. Etisolam causes euphoria, relaxation, carelessness, and side effects are drowsiness, weakness and fatigue, poorer thinking ability and judgment, and loss of control of the body. Especially dangerous is the use of etizolam with other drugs that act depressive on the central nervous system, such as, for example, alcohol, opiates and GHB/GBL. When mixing with other drugs, the effects of the drug are exacerbated and the user can lose consciousness very quickly and stop breathing.

This is the second known case of a false xanax pill – for the first time it detected in October this year.

A sample of cocaine, collected in Ljubljana, contained 22% of levamisole, which is higher than commonly used in cocaine.

Levamisol is a veterinary drug used to treat parasitic infections. For humans, however, it can cause a decrease in the number of white blood cells and a bruising of the immune system, causing an individual to be at greater risk of developing dangerous infections.

Both fake xanax and cocaine pills were purchased in November in Ljubljana from re-sellers. According to users, both substances are to be sold to a wider circle of people.

Both samples were collected the info point of the Association DrogArt in Ljubljana and Maribor, through the anonymous drug testing programme. Due to the likelihood that such samples will occur in other places throughout Slovenia, caution of users is recommended and use the anonymous testing service.

As the Xanax tablets are purchased on Dark net, this information may be of use to drug users and stakeholders in drug policy throughout the region.

Several civil society organisations in Slovenia are involved in the Early Warning System, mainly through anonymous drug testing – in Ljubljana: DrogArt and Stigma, in Kranj: Labirint, in Koper: Društvo Svit, in Nova Gorica: Šent, in Celje: JZ Socio, in Maribor: DrogArt and Zdrava pot, in Ptuj: ArsVitae.

The original communication from the Early Warning System (in Slovenian) is available following this link>>>>

The DPNSEE statement on Drug checking

Around the World, 31 March is celebrated as the International Drug Checking Day – an initiative conducted by a diverse group of organizations that all play an active part in the delivery of harm reduction services pertaining to substance use. This year’s goal is to raise public awareness of the availability of drug checking services. Supporting this goal, DPNSEE is publishing this statement in order to stress the importance of implementation of drug checking services as an early intervention in different drug use settings.

At the General Assembly held in December 2017, DPNSEE member organisations listed number of benefits and challenges linked to implementation of drug checking services as an integrative harm reduction intervention. This statement outlines the attitudes of the Network following that drug checking represents an essential aspect of public health policy as recommended by the World Health Organization[1] and has been further developed by both EU agencies and various European nations[2].

Even there is little evidence on the effectiveness of drug checking services on drug use behaviour or health outcomes, a history of drug checking services in other countries may help to guide good practice. Based on the results and the evaluation of the projects implemented in Europe, the drug checking service’s integrative parts ideally but not necessarily include the monitoring of drug markets for new/dangerous drugs, as well as high level potency of a certain substances. They also involve data collection on drug-taking patterns. Designing of a service that appeals to the target group offering them a full range of educational information, the recognition of early signs that might lead to problematic relation to substances, counselling and referral to services that focus on effective methods of treatment within the existing drug care system should enhance the better understanding the key population and offer the answer to an emerging crisis[3].

There is a growing interest for implementation of these services in most South East European countries. Legal barriers can be solved with adjustment of the current laws. That will make space for basic harm reduction program implementation within recreational settings, in places and cases where drug checking cannot be provided. Having drug checking services supported by the Government shows that the national states are taking drug use problem seriously. It also creates a path through which effectiveness of mandatory national Early Warning System, that currently lack connection to key population, can be improved. That way it can support creating clear picture about drug use on the ground, wider than only focusing on data collected through police raids, or hospital records of overdose cases or high intoxicated individuals.

The Drug Policy Network strongly supports developments towards better addressing the problem of new psychoactive substances. We invite all civil society organisations, governments and health institutions to overcome the obstacles for implementation of drug checking programs in order to create multispectral systematic response to an emerging crisis, to potentially diminish the harm and save lives.

Download PDF of the statement HERE>>>

Version in Serbia is available HERE>>>

[1]        http://www.who.int/medicines/access/controlled-substances/FactFile_NPS.pdf

[2]     http://newip.safernightlife.org/pdfs/news/Factsheet on Drug Checking in Europe.pdf

[3]     ibid