On Tuesday, 28 July 2026 I attended the Health and Ambulance Services component of the Health, Environment and Innovation Committee estimates hearings.
I asked the Director General of Queensland Health whether or not he was aware of any new nitazenes or unusual detections of fake or mislabelled drugs since December 2025, to try and get a clearer picture of the impact of banning drug checking services on community-wide harm reduction. You can see Queensland Health's published warnings and notices here.
You can read my exchange with the Director General below or in the official Parliamentary record of proceedings here.
Mr BERKMAN: Director-General, I have noticed that the Queensland Health webpage hosting drug warnings and information notices has not been updated since December 2025. Are you aware of
any new nitazenes or unusual detections of fake or mislabelled drugs in the Queensland community since then?
Dr Rosengren: The advice I have here is that since March 2025 Queensland Health has released six drug warnings as part of the early warning system.
Mr BERKMAN: Are you aware of any incidents of new nitazenes or detections since December 2025?
Dr Rosengren: The last notification was on 1 December 2025. The website lists the most recent notification that has been issued, according to the information I have.
Mr BERKMAN: In the last year, irrespective of the notifications, has there been an increase in presentations to Queensland health services for overdose involving nitazenes and, if so, by how much?
Dr Rosengren: We do not have any specific way to capture that. The data systems that are used in our hospitals and emergency departments capture diagnostic codes based on a higher level of discharge information. It would not be possible for us to give an explicit calculation. That is a longstanding issue with regard to drug and alcohol specific data analysis. The systems do not capture that granular information to give a specific and accurate answer.