New synthetic drugs like the one suspected of putting 16 people in hospital on the Gold Coast are hitting the market at a rate of more than one a week, a drug expert says.
University of Queensland Professor Jake Najman says manufacturers are working overtime to stay ahead of police by constantly tweaking existing drugs.
"As soon as anything they've produced is clearly seen as illegal, they will produce something else. There'll be a new one next week, another the week after, and another the week after that," he told AAP.
As with any illicit drug, the consequences can be dire for consumers.
One of the 16 affected on the Gold Coast at the weekend is in a critical condition in intensive care. The other 15 have been discharged.
But Prof Najman said the threat posed by synthetic drugs must be seen in context.
"The number of people dying as a consequence of consuming synthetic drugs is very, very low," he said.
"We estimate that that between 4500 and 5500 people die each year (in Australia) as a consequence of drinking alcohol. Would it be five or 10 a year dying from synthetic drugs? Maybe."
Cases of long-term health problems from the use of such drugs are also uncommon, and Queensland has much bigger drug woes, particularly when it comes to amphetamines.
Prof Najman said the state's amphetamine problem is one of the worst in the world, per capita, despite the highly effective efforts of police to bust drug labs.
"Despite the fact that Queensland police are doing a fantastic job at enforcing the law, the level of use remains extraordinarily high," he said.
"So we come to the conclusion that it isn't really making a difference. We need to think about alternatives to using the criminal justice system because it's just not working."
There's speculation that the 16 people who fell ill on the Gold Coast at the weekend may have taken a stimulant made from Alpha-PVP, also known as flakka.
That drug - a crystalline white or pink substance resembling gravel - can be swallowed smoked, snorted, injected, or vaporised to produce the same psychoactive effects as methamphetamine and ecstasy.
