Arabic version: وفاة بجرعة زائدة في كانبيرا مرتبطة بأفيون اصطناعي شديد القوة

According to ABC News, the ACT Coroner’s Court has found the 2022 overdose death of a 42-year-old woman was the first in Canberra with an established link to a novel psychoactive substance. Her body was found at her Ainslie home in July 2022 by her housemate, who called emergency services.

Post-mortem testing detected several drugs in her blood, including protonitazene, a synthetic opioid estimated to be at least 100 times more potent than heroin. Coroner Ken Archer found she died from multiple drug toxicity, with aspiration of vomit a contributing cause. The forensic pathologist said protonitazene at low levels can be highly potent and may have added to respiratory depression, but it could not be determined whether the substance alone caused her death.

Coroner Archer said the woman had used illicit drugs, predominantly heroin, for several years and had overdosed on a bus days before her death. Police found items consistent with drug use at the home, as well as prescription medications and three bottles of methadone. In an unrelated investigation into a Canberra-based drug syndicate, police found her name in a notebook that appeared to be a customer tick list, alongside a large amount of synthetic opioids.

The coroner noted that CanTEST posts alerts about potentially dangerous drugs or additives, but blood testing after deaths can be delayed by post-mortem scheduling. The ACT Government Analytical Laboratory is working to establish blood-testing capability for novel psychoactive substances, including “fast toxicology”, though the timing is unclear. Archer said there is no integrated public notification system based on coronial toxicology outcomes, and warned that heroin with higher purity or added novel substances can pose major risks even to experienced users.