HSE warns of lethal 'pink powder' ahead of St Patrick’s Day weekend

DJs have told how they are seeing people collapsing in front of their booths after taking pink powders over the past year. Picture: istock

The HSE has warned revellers this coming Patrick’s Day weekend about the increasing popularity of "pink powder" especially as there is no way to know what drugs may be contained in doses.

DJs have told how they are seeing people collapsing in front of their booths after taking pink powders over the past year.

The HSE has said that, from the samples it has analysed, it is impossible to predict what drugs will be contained in each dose, with more than five powerful substances — from stimulants to anaesthetics — often found in just one batch.

There is also the possibility that a new psychoactive drug may present itself unexpectedly and catch people socialising unawares.

Nicki Killeen, emerging drug trends project manager with the HSE, said drug use is increasing in nightlife settings away from the traditional festival crowd. She said the younger generation is moving away from pills and consuming different substances such as MDMA powders and crystals.

“What we are finding is that the MDMA powders circulating in Ireland at this moment are extremely high strength," she said.

Ms Killeen said even a very small dose of such a high potency cocktail could lead to hospitalisation or even death.

Each bag or dose of pink powder “is multiple times the average adult dose, and young people are completely unaware of that”, she said.

“We are really concerned in terms of the public health impact of the use of powders at the moment."

She said that despite being called 'pink cocaine', that drug is rarely present in a bag of pink powder.

“The batches we have seen vary,” she said, adding bags generally contain “up to five different types of drugs that all interact differently with each other”, from MDMA to benzocaine to ketamine.