Contents and Time-Course of Falsified Alprazolam Detections in New South Wales, Australia.

Introduction: Falsified alprazolam tablets (sometimes called 'counterfeit alprazolam') typically do not contain alprazolam and instead contain novel benzodiazepines or other drugs. We describe temporal changes in the number and contents of falsified alprazolam tablets in New South Wales, Australia.

Methods: We searched a database of analysed police seizures between January 2012 and March 2024 for falsified alprazolam (tablet presenting as Kalma, Mylan, Xanax, Sandoz or Alprax brands, but not containing alprazolam and/or contained other drugs).

Trends in novel opioid use and detections in exposures and police drug seizures in New South Wales.

Introduction: Novel opioids, including non-medical and non-opium-based opioids such as fentanyl analogues and nitazenes, pose a significant risk of harm due to their high potency. There is little published data on novel opioid detections and harms in Australia, yet they are implicated in multiple deaths. This study describes the detections and harms of novel opioids in New South Wales.

A cluster of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) poisonings following insufflation of a white powder sold as cocaine.

Objective: Adulteration, substitution or contamination of illicit substances can have clinically significant implications when other illicit substances are included. Such circumstances can present as clusters of poisonings, including severe toxicity and death following exposure to unexpected illicit substances. We report a cluster of laboratory-confirmed lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in a powder that was sold as cocaine and used recreationally.