Toxic fantasy suspected in latest OD spate

A BAD batch of liquid fantasy is thought to be responsible for a number of drug overdoses on the Gold Coast in the past week.

Seven people overdosed in 48 hours alone.

At 2.30am yesterday an ambulance was called to a unit at Circle on Cavill, Surfers Paradise, where a man and woman were found unconscious. Paramedics returned at 8.30am and took two other men to the Gold Coast University Hospital in a critical condition.

Last week, Tara Sharpley died in Coombabah. Her death is being investigated as a suspected overdose.

The driver of the car in which she was found unconscious allegedly tested positive to fantasy.

Two other men died over the weekend from a suspected heroin overdose.

It is understood three other people overdosed on fantasy in Logan on Tuesday.

A man was yesterday in a critical condition at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, while the other two were stable in Logan Hospital.

Queensland Ambulance Gold Coast operational supervisor Allan Windsor said calls for drug overdoses took up a lot of ambulance resources.

“If you want to risk your life taking an illicit drug, the consequences are dire, which these people have found out,” he said.

“They were lucky enough to survive, where others aren’t so lucky.

“It’s devastating for your family and friends and the people that you leave behind.

“It (attending drug overdoses) takes up a lot of resources for us and the health community in general.

“(Yesterday) morning, for example, we had two cars, plus two critical care paramedics, there’s four resources, plus myself, that’s five.

“By the time we get to the hospital system … the amount of doctors, nurses, where they could be attending other patients as well.”

The man and woman involved

in the suspected 2.30am overdose have been discharged from the Gold Coast University Hospital.

Of the men from the 8.30am call out, one was yesterday in a serious but stable condition and the other was in a stable condition.

Acting Detective Inspector Simon Garrett said whether or not this particular overdose was caused by a bad batch would not be properly known until toxicology results were returned.

“A bad batch can happen, so what we do now is we request preliminary urgent toxicology requests and that can give us some preliminary advice

on the type of drug and the dosage,” he said.

“So if there’s a bad batch sometimes it takes a little more time.

“Whenever someone loses their life as a result of drug consumption it’s a serious matter. It’s a tragedy.

“It’s also our role to investigate how they accessed the drug or who supplied the drug.

“So as well as the circumstances surrounding the death we run a parallel drug investigation.

“If we identify who supplied the drugs they are put before the courts.

“We don’t want people dying as a result of this stuff.”