New South Wales police are warning against the use of synthetic drugs after a 17-year-old boy in the state's Hunter region died on the weekend.
They say the teenager consumed a substance known as "Chronic", believed to be a synthetic form of cannabis.
His body was discovered at a reserve at Rutherford and while the cause of death is yet to be determined, police have been told he took the drug hours before dying.
Professor Jan Copeland is the Director of the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre at the University of New South Wales.
She describes synthetic cannabis as extremely potent.
"Even more concerning, they are a highly unpredictable group of laboratory chemicals mainly because they're manufactured in clandestine laboratories most typically in China and then once they come into the country they're handled by inept drug dealers who dissolve the powder that they're provided with in acetone and spray it on whatever plant material is available in a very inexact way so the dosage is not evenly distributed."
Professor Copeland warns the effects of synthetic cannabis can include anxiety, palpitations, kidney failure and hallucinations.
She says use of Chronic began in Australia from around 2006.
While Professor Copeland says the drug is not cheaper than real cannabis, other factors contribute to its rising use.
"It's experimenting with a new drug that someone might have said that they had a positive experience with but it's also used where people wish to avoid the consequences of drug testing either in the workplace or on the road. That's why even in jurisdictions where cannabis is completely legal like in Colorado in the United States they still have problems with this group of drugs because people want to avoid testing positive in the workplace or on roadside drug testings so they substitute with these kinds of drugs."
Professor Copeland says more public education is necessary because of the danger posed by synthetic drugs.
Jenny Aitchison is the Labor MP for Maitland, in the New South Wales Hunter Valley where the teenager was found dead.
She says the death comes as a shock to the community and has urged parents to educate their children about the risks of drugs.
"The takeaway message here is that no drugs are safe and young people really have to be aware of that and not take them. Just find out information about drugs. Don't believe people who say that this particular sort is safe."
Ms Aitchison says social media could be better utilised to teach young people about the consequences of drug-taking.
"If it's through their social media channels and does talk about this, I think that's something that would be useful. I know in my own community, I shared this story on social media, on Facebook, just to try and get to some of those younger people that might be thinking, 'Oh, yeah this is probably safe', and say, 'hey, look, don't do it, it's not worth it'."
Police are still awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination into the 17-year-old's death.
They've already raided a Rutherford property, seizing a quantity of Chronic.
Two men, both aged 22, have also been treated for non-life threatening symptoms after consuming the same substance.
