THE Victorian Government has reportedly approached Monash University's pharmacy department to research the kind of drugs that could be used for "voluntary assisted dying" if the state's proposed new legislation passes.
There is some discussion that indicates the resultant mixture could be a powder form made with pain killers to induce a coma and eventually cause respiratory arrest, according to an article by researchers Betty Chaar and Sami Isaac from the University of Sydney, writing in The Conversation.
It may also use sedatives and muscle relaxants, a drug to slow down the heart, possibly as well as an anti-epileptic to prevent seizure, they wrote.
Secobarbital capsules and pentobarbital liquid have been used either alone or in combination for physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia and are the preferred drugs in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and some USA states where euthanasia is legal.
In Australia, Nembutal and secobarbital can be used for animals, but are illegal for human use making implementation of the newly proposed euthanasia law in Victoria difficult, the article said.
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