Police are issuing a warning to people to avoid blue ecstasy pills shaped like the Superman logo.
It's understood that the drugs were linked to nearly a dozen overdoses in a Newcastle suburb of New South Wales.
New South Wales Police say between Friday night and Monday morning at the start of the month, 10 men and one woman had to be rushed to hospital after they had taken a Superman pill.
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Newcastle City Duty Officer Inspector Shane Buggy says this is another reminder of the dangers of taking drugs: "You never know what it is in the pill you are about to take or what it may or may not contain. You will never know how your own body may react with any substance you might take; whether you have consumed illicit substances before or not.
"There is no such thing as a bad batch. These pills are made by criminals in backyard labs and might be sold as one substance but are actually another.
Credit: NSW Police
"People need to consider these things before they risk their physical well-being. This could have been a tragedy; thank goodness it wasn't. We can only hope those involved are fine but also learn a lesson."
It's reported that the 11 people who overdosed on the pills were aged between 18 and 34 and weren't at the same venue.
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Dr Craig Sadler, from Calvary Mater Newcastle and Hunter New England Health, told the Sydney Morning Herald, it's unclear what was in the pills that caused such an adverse reaction, saying: "Clinical signs could indicate it contains a particularly potent dose of MDMA.
MDMA (Credit: PA)
"But there are some signs not consistent with a stimulant, indicating it might not be MDMA but rather a central nervous system depressant."
Despite hundreds of people sharing the post from New South Wales Police, many were quick to bring up the debate about pill testing at music festivals and other events.
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A small, cheap testing kit would be able to determine what substances were inside a capsule or pill, giving a person a better understanding of what they were taking.
However, it's been routinely blocked by law enforcement and other groups because of fears that it promotes drug use.
Spilt Milk Festival in Canberra was the first in the country to be given approval to have pill testing, but organisers pulled it after claiming the providers of the kits hadn't provided the appropriate documentation.
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Following the announcement, the Australian Capital Territory Liberal party took credit for causing the trial to be scrapped.
Sources: Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph
Topics: Police, newcastle, Drugs, Australia