Known as Blue Koalas and believed to be laced with acid, authorities are worried the drugs will make their way to Orange.

Canobolas Local Area Command Inspector Linda Bradbury said officers had not encountered Blue Koalas in Orange.

“Illegal and synthetic drugs are often 'cut down' which reduces the purity of the drugs, and increases the ability of the supplier to make more money,” Inspector Bradbury said.

“The drugs are also mixed with other drugs or precursors to increase the effectiveness or appearance.”

She said the precursors, or cutting agents can cause allergic reactions, overdoses or have other negative side-effects.

She said police were aware of MDMA use in Orange, however it wasn’t significant.

Inspector Bradbury urged people to consider their own and their families’ safety.

“Drugs, synthetic or not, affect different people in different ways. Drugs are illegal for a reason, because they cause significant harm,” she said.

“The use of drugs is not worth the risk, not only in a legal perspective, but mostly in a health and social perspective.”

Lyndon’s deputy CEO Julaine Allan said MDMA was dangerous as it didn’t create a chemical dependency.

“The stimulant effect can cause people to collapse through exhaustion, it’s rare that it’s fatal and fatalities are usually caused by something which isn’t MDMA or someone’s behaviour while they are intoxicated,” Dr Allan said.

“You could discover it’s something completely different like a synthetic chemical concoction which mimics ecstasy.

“One Blue Koala is not the same as the next Blue Koala, it’s not like Panadol where every pill and tablet is the same. Each pill is different and has a different impact on people.”

Dr Allan said while people may be told what’s in a pill, there was no way to be sure of the ingredients.