Hong Kong must move fast to stamp out scourge of ‘space oil' narcotic
One victim was a 17-year-old declared dead after his parents found him unconscious in his bedroom.
Police recovered dangerous substances in the flat, including a vape device containing the drug's main ingredient – liquid etomidate. The teen had struggled with depression and schizophrenia. Investigators suspect the cause of death might be linked to a mix of psychiatric medication and illegal drugs.
The other was a 16-year-old boy who died after suspected use of the drug supplied by a friend, aged 17, who was
arrested the next day.
Last year, the city recorded
at least three fatalities . Amid an alarming surge in the use of the drug, officials have scrambled to respond. In February, the city
reclassified four 'space oil' ingredients as dangerous drugs. The move increased the maximum penalties for possession to seven years in jail and a fine of HK$1 million (US$127,390). A trafficking conviction could result in a life prison sentence and a HK$5 million fine.
Public education campaigns
warn of potential memory loss, seizures, loss of consciousness, even death. A local study identified a
possibly fatal condition among teenagers in which levels of certain important hormones were drastically reduced.
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