Overview
- The Victoria Department of Health issued a statewide alert on Wednesday after specialised blood tests from four separate incidents found heroin alongside cocaine or methamphetamine.
- One person has died and several others were taken to hospital, with reports that some patients required resuscitation and that victims believed they were using stimulants, not opioids.
- Health officials explained that opioids depress breathing while cocaine and methamphetamine stimulate users, so unexpected heroin in stimulants raises a strong risk of fatal respiratory depression for opioid‑naïve people.
- Authorities are urging anyone who sees signs of opioid overdose—very slow or stopped breathing, difficulty waking, or tiny pupils—to call Triple Zero (000) immediately and to carry naloxone, which can reverse a heroin overdose and is available free at some pharmacies and health services.
- The alert comes as part of a wider concern about the illicit drug supply and higher overdose numbers in Victoria, and officials say the source of the tainted drugs is unclear so people should use drug‑checking services where available and seek urgent care for unexpected reactions.