ACT health authorities issue warning after cluster of suspected drug overdoses

Five people in the ACT have died from suspected drug overdoses in the past fortnight alone, prompting a warning from health and emergency services about the presence of potentially lethal drugs circulating the territory.

Another two people survived reported drug overdoses in the last week, ACT Policing said.

Officers suspect opioids were involved in all cases.

"Opioids obviously carry a high level of addiction, and our message to drug users and those around them is to be aware of the signs of an overdose," Detective Superintendent Peta Lankester said.

" Obviously we are investigating each of the incidents and the coroner will determine the outcome for each of those. "

'Not realising what they can do'

In the past year, 25 people in Canberra have died from suspected drug overdoses, police said.

Health officials said some drug overdoses could be attributed to online purchases of imitation prescription drugs by unsuspecting users.

"They're tainted, or they're just not realising what they can do; they're often not what they purport to be," Bronwyn Hendry from Directions Health Services said.

"They're buying oxycodone or they're buying benzodiazepine in some form or another … and the drug doesn't turn out to be that.

" We know very little about a lot of those things that turn up. "

Directions Health Services, the agency behind CanTEST, is the only publicly available drug-testing clinic in the country, located in Canberra.

Recent test results have triggered serious concern.

"We found heroin in cocaine a couple of times recently," Ms Hendry said.

"But, unfortunately, now we've got nitazenes that have crept into the illicit drug market, and they're worse than fentanyl.

"It can be up to a thousand times stronger than morphine, for example."

Nitazenes, a strong synthetic opioid, are not a prescribed pharmaceutical drug but could potentially be imported from overseas markets, Ms Hendry warned.

Public warned to intervene early

ACT Ambulance said while the recent cluster of deaths was concerning, they had not resulted in an increased workload for paramedics.

"If you are concerned, don't wait, intervene early and call us as soon as you can," paramedic Sam Perillo from the Clinical Governance Unit said.

"Use naloxone if you have it, that's the best way to intervene early."

Naloxone is a nasal spray administered up someone's nostrils and can rapidly reverse the effects of an overdose.

It is free at CanTEST, CAHMA, Woden Needle and Syringe Programs and select pharmacies.

The ACT Coroner will investigate the cause of the five recent deaths.