Harm-reduction services in Western Australia are reporting a sharp increase in people accessing injecting equipment for peptide use. Peer Based Harm Reduction (PBHR), WA’s largest needle and syringe exchange, says the number of people accessing equipment for synthetic peptide use has doubled in three years.
What makes this trend particularly notable is who is showing up. The demographic has shifted well beyond the stereotypical male bodybuilder crowd.
The Numbers
PBHR chief executive Paul Dessauer told the ABC that while peptide users still make up a smaller proportion of their overall work compared to other illicit drugs, the trajectory is what concerns them.
“What we’ve seen in the last six to eight months is quite a dramatic and significant increase,” he said.
Peer worker Peta Gava described how the demographics have changed: “In the past, people accessing our service for steroids and peptides generally fit a specific demographic: mostly men aged 26 to 45 focused on sport and bodybuilding.”
That is no longer the case. The people walking through the door now include “grandmas, young folks and people from all walks of life,” according to PBHR.
Further south in Mandurah, Palmerston operates its own needle and syringe exchange program. Chief executive Emma Jarvis confirmed a similar pattern. “We give out tens of thousands of needles regularly,” she said. “But it’s just because it’s such a marked increase in this area, we’re starting to notice it.”
What Is Driving the Increase
Renae Malan, who owns a personal training business in Bunbury, 170 kilometres south of Perth, said she has noticed an increase in peptide use across the fitness industry in the past 10 months.
“It goes from probably years ago, just elite athletes using these peptides, to now, I’m seeing the average Joe Blow who wants to feel better, who wants to perform better… everyone seems to be getting amongst it now,” she said.
Dr Timothy Piatkowski, a senior research fellow at the University of Queensland, pointed to social media trends combined with easy global supply as the likely drivers. He has included peptides in his research since around 2020.
“You’ve got a whole new cohort of people who inject drugs who aren’t necessarily exposed to bloodborne virus prevention messaging… who are flooding the needle and syringe programs,” he said.
What the Research Says
Dr Piatkowski is running a trial that lets community members submit their peptide purchases for content testing. The findings so far are concerning.
He said testing has found contaminated substances, toxic heavy metals, and bacteria like staph in vials. These are not theoretical risks - they are what people are actually injecting.
“[The risks include] not getting the peptide that you intended, getting a contaminated substance, getting presence of toxic heavy metals, other bacteria like staph in the vial,” he told the ABC.
He also flagged a broader knowledge gap. For many of the peptides people are injecting, there is simply not enough human data to understand long-term effects.
“We don’t know what risks are going to be present in humans across the long term,” he said. “We need research investment in population-level surveillance, and we need research investment in any potential peptides where people see promise or that we know they’re using.”
The TGA Context
The WA needle exchange data comes in the wake of the TGA’s announcement on 10 June that unapproved peptides are now a priority focus area. The TGA named specific compounds including Melanotan II, retatrutide, BPC-157, GHK-Cu, TB-500, and CJC-1295 as examples of unapproved products being supplied in injectable form.
The TGA, Australian Border Force, and Victorian Police recently seized peptides and performance-enhancing drugs worth an estimated $2 million.
AMA public health committee chair Dr Michael Bonning said it was the “strongest action the TGA has taken on peptides” and pointed to “influencer pathways” being used to sell the products as a key concern.
Why This Data Matters
Needle exchange statistics are one of the most honest signals we have about what is actually happening in the grey-market peptide space. Sales data from online vendors is unreliable. Social media engagement metrics tell you about interest, not use. But when people walk into a needle exchange and ask for injecting equipment for peptides, that is a concrete data point.
The demographic broadening is the most significant finding. When peptide use was concentrated among bodybuilders and performance athletes, the user base had at least some baseline knowledge about injection technique, sterile practice, and self-monitoring. When the demographic expands to include people with no prior injecting experience and no connection to harm-reduction messaging, the risk profile changes substantially.
Dr Piatkowski’s point about bloodborne virus prevention messaging is worth sitting with. This is a population that may never have encountered needle exchange services or safe injecting education. They are coming to these services for the first time, and the services are adapting to a clientele they were not originally designed to serve.
The call for population-level research investment is overdue. Right now, we have anecdotal reports, some needle exchange data, and a handful of hospital cases. What we do not have is systematic surveillance of what peptides people are using, where they are sourcing them, what they are actually getting, and what the health outcomes look like over time.
Sources
- WA needle exchanges raise concerns over ‘dramatic’ rise in injectable peptide use - ABC South West WA, 15 June 2026
- TGA cracks down on unregulated peptides - ABC News, 10 June 2026
- Peer Based Harm Reduction WA - PBHR services information
Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice, therapeutic recommendations, or endorsements of any compound. Grey Highway is a research-education community. We do not sell, supply, or promote the use of research compounds. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding health decisions. For Australian regulatory information, visit the TGA website.