KEY POINTS:
MELBOURNE - Hundreds of elderly Australians planning to end their lives when they can no longer care for themselves, are conspiring to manufacture an illegal euthanasia drug.
The ABC's Four Corners programme tonight said about 800 elderly people across Australia are waiting to get involved in making the drug nembutal in backyard laboratories, with at least four to be established soon in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Wollongong.
About 100 other older Australians were engaged in illegally importing the drug to Australia from the Mexican border town of Tijuana, close to the US city of San Diego.
Nembutal is used by veterinarians to sedate or euthanase animals, but was available for human use in Australia until 10 years ago.
Illegal possession of the prohibited drug carries a maximum penalty of two years' jail.
One of the illegal manufacturers, Bron Norman, said the drug should be available for those who wish to commit suicide when they have outlived their useful life.
"It's outrageous that we've been forced into this position because we can't legally obtain a drug that will give us a peaceful death when we want one," she told the ABC.
"It's not illegal to end your life. Why is it illegal to have the drug that will do it?"
A clandestine nembutal lab has been established by a group of about 20 ageing people in the southern highlands of NSW by Bron Norman and others, who chipped in $A2000 ($NZ2256) each to launch the lab.
After two years and many failures, the group has successfully manufactured the drug.
"It was really the blind leading the blind because you know what chemistry we learnt at school was long forgotten," group member John Edge said.
Four other labs are planned despite the legal risks, Mr Edge said.
"I can't speak for what the authorities will do but it may well lead to some action and from what I can see the people that I've spoken to in these groups that are forming all are very much aware of that and they're prepared to go ahead," he said.
Dr Philip Nitschke, who founded the pro-voluntary euthanasia group Exit International, said he knows of hundreds of elderly Australians who have smuggled nembutal from Mexico.
"We've got a lot of experience now. We had over 100 people last year go across to Mexico and come back with this drug successfully to Australia," he said.
"We've had over 20 this year go over."
- AAP
