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New internet drug kills 14 young Swedes

A new drug sold online has caused the deaths of 14 young men in Sweden since the beginning of July, and the Swedish National Institute of Public Health (Folkhälsoinstitutet, FHI) is now attempting a speedy process to ban the drug.

Published: 28 July 2012 09:10 CEST
New internet drug kills 14 young Swedes

All known victims of the substance 5-IT were men in their twenties, autopsied after the National Board of Forensic Medicine (Rättsmedicinalverket) suspected their deaths were caused by overdoses, wrote national newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

FHI warns of the dangers associated with online drugs.

“Often several different substances have been mixed into the powder or tablets that people buy, without their knowledge. And on chat forums different dosages are recommended. This makes the online drugs deadly,” said FHI’s investigator Anders Persson to the newspaper.

Despite the dangers, drugs sold over the Internet have exploded in popularity over the past couple of years, and authorities have difficulty keeping up with the constant stream of new ecstasy and amphetamine-type stimulant substances.

Production is mainly based in China, reports Dagens Nyheter, and the legal process to forbid each new substance as it appears takes several months.

According to last year’s investigative report from Swedish broadcaster TV4, based on statistics from the National Board of Forensic Medicine, 500 people in Sweden have been killed by Internet drugs in the past decade.

It’s unknown how many victims 5-IT may have claimed in total, or how many use the drug.

But according to the Swedish Poisons Information Centre (Giftinformationscentralen), eleven people have called them so far in 2012 complaining of unpleasant symptoms after taking the substance. Some common symptoms of drug overdose are high pulse, sweats, anxiety and confusion.

And the deaths of the 14 young men show the drug may be more widely spread than suspected.

“Previously we haven’t been able to make analyses because we lacked the resources to trace the substance. But now that there were so many, we could see that they had all used 5-IT,” said FHI’s Persson to Dagens Nyheter.

FHI is now demanding the ban of 5-IT, hoping that the process to make it illegal will be prioritized. A ban would mean that possession and purchase of the substance would be punishable by up to a year in prison.

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DRUGS

Germany should make cannabis available at pharmacies not ‘coffee shops’, says FDP boss

Germany's possible new government could well relax the country's strict cannabis laws. But FDP leader Christian Lindner says he doesn't want to go down the Netherlands route.

Published: 18 October 2021 12:50 CEST
A demonstrator smokes a joint at the pro-cannabis Hanfparade in Berlin in August 2021.
A demonstrator smokes a joint at the pro-cannabis Hanfparade in Berlin in August 2021. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Annette Riedl

The Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) are set to engage in coalition talks in a bid to become the next German government.  And the future of cannabis will likely be one of the topics to be thrashed out.

In drug policy, the three parties are not too far apart in their positions. So it’s possible that the drug could be decriminalised.

However, nothing is set in stone and the parties still haven’t come to a common line on the question of where and to what extent cannabis could be accessed. 

The leader of the Liberal FDP, Christian Lindner, has now come out in favour of allowing cannabis products such as hashish to be sold in a controlled manner. 

Consumers should be allowed “to purchase a quantity for their own use, for example, in a pharmacy after health education,” Lindner told a live broadcast on German daily Bild on Sunday.

Lindner said he was sceptical about the sale in “coffee shops” according to the Dutch model. “I am in favour of controlled distribution, and therefore health education must be able to take place,” he said.

READ MORE: Patients in Germany still face hurdles accessing medical marijuana

People in the Netherlands can access cannabis products in coffee shops under the country’s tolerant drugs policy. However coffee shops have to follow certain strict conditions. For instance they are not allowed to sell large quantities to an individual. 

Lindner said his main aims were about “crime and health prevention” and not with “legalising a right to intoxication”.

It’s not clear if Lindner advocates for prescription-only cannabis for medical use, or an over-the-counter model. 

The FDP previously said that they they are in favour of the creation of licensed shops. Their manifesto highlights the health benefits, tax windfalls and reallocation of police resources that legalisation would create.

The Green party also want licensed shops, as well as a whole new approach to drug control starting with the controlled legalisation of marijuana. The Greens state that “strict youth and user protection” would be the centre point of their legislation and hope to “pull the rug from under the black market”.

The SPD also want a reform of Germany’s prohibition stance – but are more cautious than the smaller parties on the legalisation aspect. They would like to initially set up pilot projects. 

READ ALSO: Why Germany could be on the brink of legalising cannabis

Controversial topic

So far, the sale of cannabis is officially banned in Germany. Possession of cannabis is also currently illegal across the entire country. Those caught carrying the substance can face anything from a fine to five years in jail.

However, the justice system generally looks away if you are caught carry small quantities for personal use unless you have a previous conviction.

The definition of personal use differs from state to state, with Berlin having the most liberal rules and Bavaria the tightest.

It is estimated that around four million people regularly use cannabis in Germany.

Representatives of police unions in Germany have warned against legalisation. They argue that cannabis is an often trivialised drug that can lead to considerable health problems and social conflicts, especially among young people.

Oliver Malchow, from the GdP police union, said that “it doesn’t make any sense to legalise another dangerous drug on top of alcohol”.

The current Ministry of Health also continues to oppose the legalisation of cannabis, a spokesperson for Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) made clear. Cannabis is a dangerous substance and therefore legalisation is not advisable, the spokesman said. 

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