Methanol – Killer!

Abstract

One of the most distressing intoxicants for Aboriginal people is methanol. This occurs in the spirit provided for duplicators used in schools. The spirit duplicators are cheap, versatile, and can print on different colours, so they are deservedly popular. But from time to time the local people sample the duplicating fluid, which is widely known to produce a big high, and to intoxicate like alcohol (ethanol). Many of these people have been lucky enough to wake up with a bad hangover. Others have become blind, or even died.