A cheap synthetic drug known as 'monkey dust' is sweeping Australia's party scene, with experts warning it can trigger paranoia and psychosis in a shorter time than crystal methamphetamine, or 'ice'. The substance, also called bath salts or MDPV, costs around $10 a hit and can leave users high for days.
Professor Nicole Lee from Curtin University's National Drug Research Institute described the drug's emergence as alarming. 'It has some effects that are pretty similar to amphetamines and cocaine. If you take too much people can become a bit confused,' she told 3AW. 'In the longer term, there have been reports of paranoia and psychosis that are similar to ice – that seem to happen in a much shorter period of time.'
The drug, a potent derivative of methamphetamine, causes wild hallucinations and a false sense of invincibility. Users have been known to exhibit extreme behaviour, including one Australian woman who aggressively licked a dancefloor until her tongue bled. In the UK, a 35-year-old man was killed after climbing over a motorway barrier and stumbling into traffic while under the influence.
Professor Lee noted that the illegality of the drug increases its dangers, as it is often manufactured in backyard labs. 'A drug becomes much more dangerous when it's illegal, because it's manufactured in backyard labs and by backyard chemists, and so we don't know what's in them or how much someone is taking,' she said. She advocated for pill testing at festivals to better understand what is circulating.
Paramedics in Stoke-on-Trent, England, have reported attacks from users displaying superhuman strength. 'One man was lying on the floor, and appeared to be unconscious. But then he suddenly jumped up and started behaving as if he was superhuman,' said paramedic Debbie Darle. 'There were three of us and two were men but he threw us around like rag dolls.'
