Dangerous 'Superman' Pills Are Back in the News

Ahh Superman pills, are you ever good news?

Over the years, ecstasy tablets stamped with the distinctive Superman logo have been linked to serotonin syndrome, festival deaths, and the overdose deaths of teenagers, twenty-somethings, and parents. In 2015, they popped up on the Gold Coast containing Paramethoxymethamphetamine (PMMA), a close relative of the deadly PMA, which can be just as dangerous in high doses. Over on PillReports, warnings about different incarnations of the Superman date all the way back to 2003.

And now they're back—this time triggering a spate of hospitalisation in Newcastle. NSW Police are warning locals after 11 people were taken to the emergency room over the weekend, all having taken blue pills stamped with the Superman "S". The first people affected started arriving at Calvary Mater Newcastle and John Hunter Hospital around 11 PM on Friday and hospitalisations continued until Monday evening—so it's not thought the patients were attending the same event.

"At this stage we don't know what's in them," Calvary Hospital alcohol and drug unit director Dr Craig Sadler told the Newcastle Herald. Tests are currently being carried out on samples of the batch, to try to determine why they are making people sick.

"Clinical signs could indicate it contains a particularly potent dose of MDMA," Dr Sadler said. "But there are some signs not consistent with a stimulant, indicating it might not be MDMA but rather a central nervous system depressant."

All of those hospitalised recovered, and have been released.

Newcastle Police's Shane Buggy took the opportunity to warn locals against taking drugs. "There is no such thing as a bad batch. These pills are made by criminals in backyard labs and might be sold as one substance but are actually another," he said. "This is another clear example of the dangers of taking illicit drugs… You never know what it is in the pill you are about to take, or what it may or may not contain."

Next month, Canberra will host the first ever government-sanctioned, professional pill-testing service at Spilt Milk music festival. The testing will be run by a consortium of harm reduction groups—including Harm Reduction Australia, ACTINOS Project, DanceWize, and Students for Sensible Drug Policy—who've been pushing for years to give partiers more tools to know what's actually in their drugs.

More as this story develops.