POLICE concerns about online shopping for illicit drugs has prompted a warning to parents to check what their children are receiving in the mail.
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Senior Constable Lee Stewart, of the Warrnambool police divisional response unit, said officers searched a Port Fairy home at 6.20pm last Friday as part of AN investigation into trafficking of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and ecstasy.
Senior Constable Stewart said an 18-year-old man was arrested and admitted to buying LSD and ecstasy from an online drug supermarket, which sends them in the mail.
“No LSD or ecstasy was located,” Senior Constable Stewart said. “The accused stated had used the ecstasy about two weeks before and threw out most of the LSD less than a week ago.
“A small amount of cannabis was found in a bedroom in a lockable container.
“He admitted to using his computer that was located in his bedroom to order the illicit drugs online.”
Senior Constable Stewart said the teenager was arrested, interviewed and released from police custody. He is expected to be charged with offences on summons.
“A teacher also found a tablet at a Warrnambool school,” he said.
“Police were called ... and the substance spot-tested positive to LSD.
“We want parents to be aware of what their children are receiving via mail and what LSD looks like. If parents have any further details they can contact the Warrnambool police station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.”
Another 18-year-old Warrnambool man was charged on April 1 with assault and drug-related offences after taking LSD obtained online.
Constable Ross Hatton, of Warrnambool police, told the Warrnambool Magistrates Court last week that after being arrested the young man’s behaviour was the most erratic he had ever seen.
Constable Hatton said that in snatches of conversations, the teenager revealed he had ingested oven cleaner, lighter fluid and some sort of synthetic LSD bought on the internet.
He was twice taken by police to hospital for assessment and medically cleared.
The young man is thought to have suffered some sort of drug-induced psychosis. He spent 10 days in custody and has been released on bail.
In a recent online survey of 18 to 25-year-old Australians, 10 per cent of respondents who tried synthetic drugs said using them resulted in feeling like they were either going to die or that they had died already.
An online survey of 1100 young Australians who had tried synthetic drugs, showed many people experienced negative side effects, including 48 per cent stating they felt scared and paranoid, 37 per cent felt nausea, more than one in five experienced chest pains and almost half had overwhelming feelings of anxiety.
Director of the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre Professor Jan Copeland said these experiences were not isolated, and the drugs had already resulted in several deaths.