The sister of a man who died in a mass overdose has made a heartbreaking plea to Australians not to risk their lives and avoid taking drugs.
Michael Hodgkinson, 32, was one of four people found dead in the living room of a unit in Broadmeadows, north of Melbourne, shortly after 2am on June 25.
Police revealed on Thursday that a synthetic opioid had been found in the system of Hodgkinson, Abdul El Sayed, 17, and an unidentified man and woman, aged 32 and 42.
The Department of Health this week issued a warning about the sale of cocaine in Melbourne laced with the synthetic opioid protonitazene, which is 100 times more potent than heroin.
Its potency and sedative effects can cause respiratory depression (shallow breathing) or overdose, especially when combined with other drugs or alcohol.
Hodgkinson’s devastated sister Nicole Hodgkinson has urged Australians to “take no chances” with drugs.
“This drug is going to ruin a lot of families,” Ms Hodgkinson said. Herald of the Sun.
‘Be careful what you put into your body because at the end of the day, it’s your family that’s going to suffer the consequences.’
Michael Hodgkinson’s (pictured) sister Nicole has urged Australians to “take no chances with drugs” after he and three others died from an opioid overdose.
Ms Hodgkinson said her family would always carry the pain of her brother’s death because they “never got to say goodbye”.
She remembered her brother as a good man who “tried to make you laugh” no matter what he was going through in his own life.
“Our family will never be the same, Michael was a great person who unfortunately made a bad decision,” Hodgkinson said.
The plasterer was the eldest of six siblings and uncle to five nieces and nephews.
Ms Hodgkinson and her younger sister Jamie, 26, said they had travelled home from Tasmania to begin the gruelling task of collecting their belongings.
Police have yet to confirm whether the four deaths can be directly linked to protonitazene, as forensic results are not expected for several weeks.
The health department has linked the horrific drug to overdoses in Victoria and other states, including one death in South Australia.
Mr Hodgkinson (pictured) was one of four found dead in the living room of a unit in Broadmeadows, north of Melbourne, on June 25.
The opioid that killed the group is still unknown, but warnings have been issued about cocaine laced with protonitazene, a synthetic opioid 100 times more potent than heroin (pictured: police and family at the scene)
Authorities warned that it was mixed with other drugs, making it difficult to identify its origin.
“Serious harm has recently occurred in Melbourne associated with a white powder sold as cocaine containing protonitazene,” the department’s warning states.
‘The product appears to produce loss of consciousness, respiratory depression and potentially life-threatening hypoxia (insufficient oxygen for normal functioning).’
He added that the sedative effects of the drug and its potency compared to the stimulant effects of cocaine could lead to an overdose.
The warning also states that respiratory depression also appears more rapidly with the new synthetic opioids.
Taking protonitazene with alcohol, other prescription medications such as Xanax or Valium, or recreational drugs such as GHB may also increase the risk of overdose.
The deaths are being treated as non-suspicious while forensic tests and investigations into the deaths remain ongoing.