20 Year Old From Victoria Posts Intense Drugs PSA After Bad Reaction To Pills

20-year-old Victorian man Jordy Hurdes has taken to Facebook to post a chilling public service announcement following a bad reaction to party drugs that has left him with spasms and a stutter, with doctors surprised he survived.

“The party scene’s pretty big these days in Australia and so is ecstasy — also known as ‘pingas’ — as most of you would know it as,” he says as he stares into camera, his body racked by spasms and his speech stuttered.

“I wanted to share my story about what happened,” he says, pointing out that “this isn’t for sympathy or anything it’s for awareness, it’s played a huge part in my life and affected my family and friends.”

“Doctors can’t believe I’m still alive — (I’m) so grateful I’m still here. It’s a waiting game at the moment to see whether I’ll have a permanent jerking like I have now — as you can see — and with my stutter I’m not sure whether it will go or get better any time soon.”

While there is no word yet on what chemicals exactly caused the reaction, Hurdes believes the pill was ecstasy, with his post making no mention of this being confirmed by tests or not.

However with ecstasy use among 20-to-39-year-old Australians at almost one in four, many are starting to acknowledge the need for publicly available testing kits.

In response to the recent death of a man from an unknown substance at Defqon.1 dance festival in Penrith, Detective Inspector Grant Healey pointed out that “the problem with pills is you don’t know what you’re getting, and you’re really having a lottery with your life taking those pills.” Hurdes video certainly confirms that.

Speaking on the ABC‘s 7:30 Report  earlier this year, Dr David Caldicott, who monitors drugs in hospital emergency departments, suggested that pill testing at Australian festivals would minimise harm because “the idea of a drug-free Australia is ludicrous”.

While the government have long been preaching the dangers of illicit drugs, in particular to spread the message that each individual pill’s toxicity and effects are unpredictable, Hurdes’ story and those of others suggests that perhaps the government’s message isn’t sinking in.

Still while he may not be able to benefit from his own hindsight, Hurdes hopes others will, calling on people to help spread his message.“If I can get this into at least a couple of people’s heads then I could have saved someone’s life,” he says. “Feel free to share this post as I want as many people to see how a simple party drug can change someone’s life.”

While Hurdes is hoping to recover, his message is clear. “Guys don’t get sucked in. It all seems like fun and games and a cheap $25 pill but it’s not worth it, if I have to live like this it will be a struggle for the rest of my life. Be the stronger person and say no to drugs.”

You can watch the full video here below.