{"id":732401,"date":"2026-06-29T06:57:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T06:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/732401\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T06:57:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T06:57:26","slug":"illegal-peptides-surge-in-demand-for-sterile-equipment-puts-pressure-on-victorias-needle-and-syringe-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/732401\/","title":{"rendered":"Illegal peptides: Surge in demand for sterile equipment puts pressure on Victoria\u2019s needle and syringe programs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A surge in illegal peptides is fuelling unprecedented demand for sterile injecting equipment, placing immense pressure on decades-old needle and syringe programs originally designed to combat the rise of HIV during the heroin epidemic.<\/p>\n

This new cohort of drug injectors now account for up to 40 per cent of clients at some services, sparking shortages of thinner-tipped needles used to inject peptides under the skin or into muscles.<\/p>\n

\"NathanNathan Farley is a senior harm-reduction clinician at Uniting. Eddie Jim<\/p>\n

About 20 per cent of visitors to cohealth\u2019s needle and syringe program this year have been using performance- and image-enhancing drugs, including peptides and steroids. This compares with about 5 to 8 per cent over the past decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a real potential for current needle and syringe program services to be overwhelmed by peptide users, placing both people who use peptides and people who use psychoactive drugs at risk of harm,\u201d said Andrea Fischer, cohealth\u2019s director of community-based drug and alcohol responses.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsideration needs to be given as to how to increase services to meet the needs of both groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the sudden demand had caused supply shortages of the finer, shorter needles, although stocks were adequate at the moment.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Retatrutide\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Fischer said the programs needed urgent resourcing to expand storage, extend opening hours and establish new services in areas of high need. She\u2019s also calling for improved referral pathways to general practitioners and fast-tracked education materials.<\/p>\n

Regional services are also feeling the impact. At Barwon Health, performance- and image-enhancing drugs including peptides now drive roughly 40 per cent of all activity handled by its mobile needle and syringe program.<\/p>\n

The mobile service delivers clean injecting equipment to the community and picks up and disposes of used syringes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re also seeing a clear rise in people seeking equipment for performance- and image-enhancing drugs, including peptides, and our priority is ensuring everyone has safe, non-judgmental access to sterile equipment and harm-reduction support,\u201d said a Barwon Health spokeswoman.<\/p>\n

\"SeniorSenior harm-reduction clinician Nathan Farley says there\u2019s been a steady rise in demand for Uniting\u2019s needle and syringe program from peptide users.Eddie Jim<\/p>\n

Uniting Alcohol and Drug Services, which runs a needle and syringe program in Coburg in Melbourne\u2019s inner north, said about one quarter of its clients were now using peptides or steroids.<\/p>\n

The service has more than doubled the number of syringes it is distributing.<\/p>\n

Nathan Farley, a senior harm-reduction clinician at Uniting, said many people using black market peptides felt uncomfortable purchasing syringes from pharmacies due to stigma.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Victorians<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to provide a warm space where everyone is welcome and there is no judgment,\u201d Farley said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA chemist would only stock a really limited range, and people accessing a chemist for injecting equipment aren\u2019t treated the best. They are asked a lot of questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the peptide users were predominantly men aged in their 20s to 50s who had purchased the peptides online. Many of Uniting\u2019s clients were seeking sterile injecting equipment for black market peptides<\/a> used for muscle growth as well as weight loss.<\/p>\n

Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association chief executive Chris Christoforou said the situation was placing immense pressure on a decades-old health infrastructure designed in the 1980s to combat the rise of HIV.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Peptides\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been an explosion in demand for clean injecting equipment [from] a new cohort of injecting drug users \u2013 those who use performance- and image-enhancing drugs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said some services were reporting that clients were ordering boxes of up to 500 syringes for their personal use.<\/p>\n

Christoforou said this new cohort of injecting drug users were frequently sustaining avoidable injuries and infections due to a lack of tailored health advice.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Unregulated<\/a><\/p>\n

The Salvation Army\u2019s alcohol and other drugs Victorian manager, Juanita Davis, confirmed the service\u2019s needle and syringe program was also experiencing a peptide-fuelled surge in demand.<\/p>\n

Between January and May 2026, more than 683,000 needles and syringes were distributed, an increase of about 185,000 compared to the same period last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur staff are highly experienced in harm reduction and continue to adapt their approach, supporting people \u2013 especially those new to injecting \u2013 with practical, trusted safety advice and information as new trends emerge,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A Victorian government spokesman said needle and syringe programs were designed to be adaptable and responsive to changing patterns of drug use. This included emerging trends such as the use of performance- and image-enhancing drugs, including peptides.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe needle and syringe program provides a critical frontline public health response, ensuring people who inject drugs have access to sterile equipment, harm-reduction education, and referral pathways to support services,\u201d he said, adding that the government had invested more than $3 billion to expand drug treatment, supports and harm-minimisation services across Victoria.<\/p>\n

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\"HenriettaHenrietta Cook<\/a> is a senior reporter covering health for The Age. Henrietta joined The Age in 2012 and has previously covered state politics, education and consumer affairs.Connect via X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":732402,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[97,243],"class_list":["post-732401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-health","tag-medication"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=732401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/732402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=732401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=732401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=732401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}