September 3, 2014
Euthanasia Advocate Warns of Scam Nembutal Sites
Voluntary euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke says scam internet sites are using his image to sell the drug Nembutal.
Dr Nitschke said the sites from the US, Eastern Europe and Turkey also include one US site appropriating the name of his organisation Exit.
Dr Nitschke said he is powerless to stop the publication other than to request his image is removed, and that requests to take down the sites using his image without permission have been ignored.
Nembutal cannot be bought online legally in Australia.
Dr Nitschke said a number of Australians have already used the fake sites to order the drug.
“Because they’re using my image and I suppose they think they get some currency from that and from my book, they’re using the cover of that as one of their images,” Dr Nitschke said.
“[They] believe that it does give them some credibility and it certainly works because a number of people have said to us that ‘we saw your site and we decided to order Nembutal on the internet and we lost our money’ so there seems to be little we can actually do about it.”
In July, the Medical Board of Australia suspended Dr Nitschke’s registration to practice after after he admitted to supporting 45-year-old Perth man Nigel Brayley in his decision to commit suicide despite knowing he was not terminally ill.
He is appealing against the suspension.