{"id":916745,"date":"2026-10-05T08:10:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T08:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/916745\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T08:10:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T08:10:17","slug":"rare-synthetic-opioid-suspected-in-tasmanian-overdose-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/916745\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare synthetic opioid suspected in Tasmanian overdose death"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>An overdose death that may be linked to a rare synthetic opioid has prompted a warning to Tasmanians about the dangers of illicit drugs, after the substance was detected in the state for the first known time.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Health said the person who died may have used an illicit drug containing a strong opioid without knowing it was there. <\/p>\n<p>Acting secretary of the Department of Health Dinesh Arya said it was the first known detection in Tasmania of the novel synthetic opioid, which belongs to the novel U-class.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cU-class opioids are not regularly detected in Australia,\u201d Arya said. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-79041\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/q1czh0h98fjsfqi_dc1ii_1godt.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\"  \/>Acting secretary of the Department of Health Dinesh Arya issued the warning to Tasmanians. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a dangerous substance and we do not want to see more of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is limited information available about these substances and how they affect individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-79043\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/4158o5rrjjo8t2h_4zn8x_1mco4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\"  \/>It is the first known detection of the novel U-class opioid in Tasmania. Image \/ Stock<\/p>\n<p>He said illicit drugs could contain unexpected substances with very different effects on the body from what the person taking them expected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe effects of these drugs can lead to serious adverse health outcomes, which can include organ damage, unconsciousness and even death,\u201d Arya said.<\/p>\n<p>The department is urging people to watch for signs of opioid overdose.<\/p>\n<p>These include slow, irregular or stopped breathing, reduced consciousness or difficulty waking someone and unresponsiveness. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-79044\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/7z6u5wks39v85nv_1jc35_d5w9g.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\"  \/>Tasmanians have been urged to watch for the signs of an opioid overdose. Image \/ Stock<\/p>\n<p>Other signs are pinpoint pupils and blue or grey lips or fingertips.<\/p>\n<p>Anyone who sees someone showing these symptoms after using drugs should call Triple Zero (000) immediately or get urgent medical help.<\/p>\n<p>The department has also told doctors, nurses and other health workers about the detection and is encouraging them to use naloxone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNaloxone can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose and save a life,\u201d Arya said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An overdose death that may be linked to a rare synthetic opioid has prompted a warning to Tasmanians&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":916746,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[64,63,137],"class_list":["post-916745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=916745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/916746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=916745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=916745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=916745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}