The Sydney Morning Herald logo
The Sydney Morning Herald logo

Drugs

Advertisement

The Australians most likely to die from accidental drug overdoses

For the first time since records began, accidental fatality rates are being driven by this middle-aged group.

  • Annika Smethurst

Latest

Cannabis plants at a Brisbane facility.

‘It will normalise impaired driving’: Trauma surgeons condemn Labor’s cannabis changes

The Minns government’s proposed changes to drug driving laws have been slammed by a group of experts who say the legal threshold is not backed by medical evidence.

  • Michael McGowan
Amy Tossoun.

Behind the glamour of a Mount Buller ski trip: How an allegedly spiked vodka led a socialite to court

A night out at Mount Buller that started with dancing ended with a call for paramedics. Now, a socialite faces court after allegedly being caught on CCTV spiking her friend’s drink.

  • Erin Pearson
Social housing resident Warren Brygel says Chapel Street has changed for the worse.

The Chapel Street sanctuary providing so much to those with so little

In a warm cafe on Chapel Street, Elene has found sanctuary away from the drugs and chaos. The trouble is, she has to go home.

  • Cassandra Morgan
German shepherds and smaller breeds are being used to detect illicit drugs in psychiatric units.

Hospitals turn to sniffer dogs to combat illicit drugs in wards

The use of sniffer dogs inside closed psychiatric wards has divided mental health experts, as hospitals try to balance the invasion of patient privacy against the risks posed by illicit substances.

  • Grant McArthur and Kieran Rooney
Dr Brendan Morrissey Dr Jacqueline Maplesden with a special interest in toxicology

Rise of supersized ‘nangs’ linked to deaths, paralysis and brain injuries

Increasing numbers of Victorians are being left with permanent spinal and neurological injuries, life-threatening complications and severe burns linked to inhaling nitrous oxide.

  • Melissa Cunningham
Advertisement
The flight touched down in Merauke, South Papua.

Australian fugitives and pilot who flew them to Indonesia sentenced

The trio have been sentenced over a “black flight” from Queensland to a remote and dangerous Indonesian province late last year.

  • Julius Dennis
Organised crime could have complete control of Australia’s multibillion dollar tobacco market as soon as 2030 unless drastic action is taken.

Taxpayers, not Big Tobacco, are paying for our illegal smoke habit

Big Tobacco is still making a fortune in Australia, even as government revenue plunges – but organised crime will soon snuff this out.

  • Colin Kruger
Bobbi, a new wellness start-up, is named after United States health secretary and vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr.

‘Back soon’: RFK Jr-inspired health start-up goes offline

Bobbi, a telehealth provider founded by an Australian multimillionaire and named after the US health secretary, has taken down its website after this masthead’s reporting on its prescribing practices.

  • Kishor Napier-Raman
Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls speaking on Saturday.

Health minister confirms there will be no cuts to mental health levy

A $1.2 billion mental health levy will not be scrapped, the state government has confirmed, despite a damning report that questioned the management of the levy. 

  • Cloe Read