Australia :Russian designer drug linked to mass overdose at elite $11,000-a-year scho

[androoo]

Russian designer drug linked to mass overdose at elite $11,000-a-year school is so rare Australian doctors don't know how to treat the five boys clinging to life


Cases involving Phenibut are so rare even doctors don't know how to treat teens
The drug was outlawed in Australia last month
Paramedics attended Saint Stephen's College on the Gold Coast on Wednesday
Year 10 boys were suffering 'altered levels of consciousness' from substance
Five in critical condition and two being treated at Gold Coast University Hospital
Students said that they received Snapchat videos showing boys taking pills

By Matt Leclere and Charlie Moore For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 19:17 AEDT, 22 February 2018 | Updated: 22:00 AEDT, 22 February 2018



The drug thought to have been taken by seven schoolboys who were raced to hospital after a suspected mass overdose is so rare that many doctors don't even know about it.

So little is known about Phenibut - the drug reportedly used by the students - that doctors at the Gold Coast University Hospital are struggling to work out the best way to treat the students.

Five of the boys are fighting for their lives while another two are in a stable condition after they took the drugs on Wednesday at the prestigious $11,000-a-year Saint Stephen's College, in Upper Coomera in Queensland.


Cases involving the drug, which is not sold in Australia after being made illegal just last month, are so uncommon that hardly any people in the healthcare industry know what it is.

The Queensland vice president of the Australian Medical Association Dr Jim Finn explained how health professionals had very little knowledge about Phenibut.

'No doctors in Australia are familiar with this drug,' he told news.com.au.

'There is no drug that is the same as Phenibut in the country. So we are really working with an unknown substance here in Australia.'

Made in Russia in the 1960s, Phenibut is a central nervous system depressant used to treat anxiety and insomnia.

It is marketed in the US as a dietary supplement designed to 'help keep you calm'.
Six boys aged 15 and one aged 14 were rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital after falling ill at Saint Stephen's College (pictured) this afternoon
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Six boys aged 15 and one aged 14 were rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital after falling ill at Saint Stephen's College (pictured) this afternoon

Daily Mail Australia found it selling online for as little as $20, as police investigate if the boys bought it on the dark web.

Dr Finn also said he had only been aware of one such cases involving the drug in Australia in the last three years.

In that case, the person bought the substance online to calm their nerves.

But instead they experienced some 'tranquiliser-like' side-effects, he told news.com.au.

Police have seized several mobile phones and electronic devices as part of their investigation.

Queensland Police has also requested toxicology tests to confirm exactly what was taken.

The schoolboys reportedly took the drugs on their lunch break, filming themselves swallowing the pills and posting the footage to Snapchat.


The video showed the label of the drug and the dosage the boys were taking, reported the Courier Mail.

Headmaster Jamie Dorrington, who has visited the boys at Gold Coast University Hospital, asked parents to tell their children not to share the video as police seized the mobile phones of the affected students.

He wrote in an email: 'If your child receives any messages or film footage or audio files relating to today's incident they MUST NOT forward to any other person.

'This is not a request from my office but from the Queensland Police Service.'

Medics are waiting for toxicology results expected on Thursday before officially revealing which drug the boys took.

'It would appear this was an overdose. We believe they have swallowed the drug,' Pat Berry of Queensland Ambulance Service said.

He warned teenagers not to take drugs, adding: 'It's just Russian roulette. There really is no such thing as a recreational drug.'

On Wednesday afternoon police investigating where the drugs came from set up two crime scenes at places in the school where the drugs were taken.

The teenagers were 'giddy and nauseous' and 'unaware of their surroundings' when paramedics arrived around 1pm.

They were all conscious when they were taken to hospital and placed in the Intensive Care Unit.
'There are several students that are actually helping us with the lines of inquiry we have got,' Inspector Wormald said. Pictured: Paramedics at the scene
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'There are several students that are actually helping us with the lines of inquiry we have got,' Inspector Wormald said. Pictured: Paramedics at the scene

The hospital refused to provide an update on the boys' condition when contacted by Daily Mail Australia late Wednesday night. Six are aged 15 and one is 14.

'We are making some inquiries as to whether or not they have actually purchased it off the internet themselves,' Inspector Tony Wormald said.

'There is that possibility but it is early days in the investigation. It is a very sobering update really. It's very serious.'

'There are several students that are actually helping us with the lines of inquiry we have got,' Inspector Wormald added.



Phenibut is a central nervous system depressant used to treat anxiety and insomnia.

It was first made in Russia in the 1960s and is marketed in the US as a dietary supplement designed to 'help keep you calm'.

On February 1 Australia became the first country to make it illegal due to health concerns.

It is said to be highly addictive with side effects including headaches and depression.

Before the ban, it was easy to buy online without a prescription as a nutritional supplement in powder.

Police are trying to find out who supplied the drugs and warn they will face 'serious charges.'

Upset parent Claudia Stoessel told the Gold Coast Bulletin: 'I just got here and saw all the police and the ambulances and I didn't even get told anything.'

'It gave me a heart attack because my son is 14 and people were saying it was a 14 year old, it was so scary.'

It comes just weeks after the school's senior vice-captain Brittany Hills was found dead under a bridge at Paradise Point after a suspected suicide.

One mother told the Courier Mail: 'We are still mourning one student. I don't think anyone could cope with losing another.'

Headmaster Jamie Dorrington said in a statement on Wednesday: 'A number of students attended the Health Centre today, seven students have been taken to hospital. All the student's parents went with them.

'It is likely the students have ingested some kind of substance. While this is obviously of concern to me, it does allow me to reassure you that their illness was not due to anything contagious.

'The Queensland Ambulance Service has just been with the Executive staff and noted that the school's response was exactly as they would have liked it to have been. Students all received appropriate care as soon as we were alerted to the problem.

'I have been advised by Queensland Ambulance that if students were to exhibit any symptoms it would have occurred by now.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ol-Gold-Coast-Phenibut-Australia-doctors.html

 

[androoo]

I've od'd on phenibut before, its rough, in an out of consciousness for 24 hours.. nasty stuff if you take too much

 

[S.J.B.]

It's pretty disingenuous to call a medicine that has been in use since the 1960s a "designer drug."

 

[pofacedhoe]

also i guarantee that in australia they use baclofen for spasticity and it is very similar to phenibut

 

[cj]

11k a year isn't that expensive for an elite boarding school. They run up to 30k in the states

 

[Vastness]

I was trying to figure out why this article was full of so much bullshit and then I saw it was from the Daily Mail... that explains it.

Pretty sure every kid will be absolutely fine and was never in any real danger. Typical sensationalist prohibitionist bullshit.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Seven students who overdosed on Russian drug expelled from Gold Coast school

The seven students who overdosed on the Russian designer drug Phenibut have been expelled from their Gold Coast school after the final student was released from hospital at the weekend.

Six 15-year-olds and one 14-year-old were taken to Gold Coast University Hospital on February 21 after a mass overdose at Saint Stephen's College in Upper Coomera.

Four of the seven boys were in a critical condition, one was serious and two were stable. All have since been released.

In a statement, headmaster Jamie Dorrington said he had visited the boys at home earlier in the week and held meetings with them and their parents, which resulted in the boys' expulsion.

"The school initially focused on the health of the students and families involved in the recent unfortunate events at Saint Stephen’s.

"As you are aware, they all returned home by the start of this week, at which point I arranged meetings with them and their parents at school, in order to discuss their situation and apply the school’s Drugs Misuse Policy.

"I can confirm that all seven boys will no longer be attending Saint Stephen’s.

"I believe all of the boys were sorry for the impact of their actions on themselves, their families and the school.

"I ask that the college community accept that these boys made a mistake, which they themselves accept, and we, as a supportive community, need not embarrass them further.

"Once again, I am grateful for the support shown by the school community through a challenging time. Hopefully this brings a close to the situation.

"I reassure the school community that my staff and I are committed to keeping all of our students safe and healthy."

Paramedics attended Saint Stephen’s College at Upper Coomera about 12.50pm after the boys were found to be falling in and out of consciousness following the overdose.

Shortly after the boys had been taken from the school, police seized several mobile phones and electronic devices as part of the investigation and two crime scenes were set up on campus.

Two days later, only one of the year 10 students remained in Gold Coast University Hospital, with details emerging that the victims were suspected of purchasing the drug online.

The final student was released from hospital on Sunday and tests later confirmed phenibut was the drug at the centre of the overdose.

Phenibut was developed in Russia during the 1960s and originally given to Soviet cosmonauts to combat anxiety and insomnia, according to Pharmacology lecturer Janet Cheung and pharmacy lecturer Jonathan Penm.

The psychotropic drug affects the brain and depresses the central nervous system, meaning it can also be used as a tranquiliser and mood elevator, they write in The Conversation.

According to the experts, people in many countries including Australia, the United States and the Britain commonly use the drug recreationally to reduce social anxiety and induce feelings of euphoria.

Side-effects can include nausea, vomiting, constipation, hallucinations, drowsiness, seizures and more.


Source: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/na...d-from-gold-coast-school-20180302-p4z2mb.html

 

[S.J.B.]

The seven students who overdosed on the Russian designer drug Phenibut have been expelled from their Gold Coast school after the final student was released from hospital at the weekend.

I guess that's what happens when you bring a high-brow prep school bad publicity.

 

[Flynnal]

Australia is the laughing stock of the developed world when it comes to drug policy.

Drugs are expensive here. The fucktards that run this country want to keep it that way. Keeps the bikies in business.

Not to say that drugs are good, they are not, but there are far worse things to worry about than some fuckwit getting smashed taking a drug he or she knows nothing about. That's how kids get killed. Retards.

 

[treezy z]

Had a buddy do 6 grams or some crazy dose of phenibut, ended up with a catheter and tapped being.

 

[zephyr]

11k a year isn't that expensive for an elite boarding school. They run up to 30k in the states

"Prestigious" schools are just private schools. The top ranked schools are about 20 k a year and double that for boarding.


Theres heaps of drugs in boarding schools, this is unusual as its not a common drug

 

[someguyoz]

11k a year isn't that expensive for an elite boarding school. They run up to 30k in the states

11 grand isn't that much for a private school here either, this one appears to be a Catholic school, they are quite often cheaper. The actual "elite" schools are around the 20-40K mark.