Four men admitted to Hawke’s Bay Hospital amid claims of laced illicit drugs circulating

Hawke's Bay Hospital in Hastings, where two men are critically ill and two others are stable with symptoms suggesting use of laced MDMA. Photo / NZME

Four men are in Hawke’s Bay Hospital, two of them in a critical condition, after consumption of illicit drugs that may have been laced.

Confirmation came in a report on the High Alert drugs information website on Tuesday, revealing there had been an incident of “serious harm believed to be associated with the consumption of a substance being misrepresented as MDMA in the Hawke’s Bay area”.

A spokesperson for hospital and health management agency Te Whatu Ora Hawke’s Bay confirmed earlier on Tuesday that the four men, in their 30s, were in hospital, two in a critical condition, one serious but stable and one in a stable condition.

A sample of the substance ingested was provided to the hospital, and preliminary testing indicated the presence of dimethylpentylone, a synthetic cathinone.

More comprehensive analysis was underway and additional information would be provided when available, High Alert said.

The samples suspected to contain dimethylpentylone are small white crystals/rock, and may appear in various sizes or even crushed up into a powder, authorities warned.

The New Zealand Drug Foundation says methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy, E, Molly, MD) is a stimulant that comes as a powder or crystals, and that the term “Ecstasy” refers to pills made from MDMA, usually with patterns pressed into them.

MDMA increases the heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature. The foundation says it is sometimes mixed with amphetamines, caffeine or other synthetic substances.

It warns that in New Zealand some substances being sold as MDMA are synthetic cathinones (commonly known as “bath salts”), and that “these drugs can have more unpleasant and unpredictable effects than MDMA”.

High Alert strongly urges caution if taking white crystals/rocks being sold as or represented as MDMA.

*Drug checking is recommended to help identify the substance and minimise the risk. If you or someone you know takes a substance thought to be MDMA and starts to feel unusual effects, call 111. Be honest about what you have taken – you won’t get in trouble, and it could save your life.