– I took an overdose

The youth party leader thought he was taking amphetamines.

Saturday 4 May at 09:20

Grønn Ungdom leader Tobias Stokkeland tells NRK on Saturday that he has previously taken an overdose.

– I took an overdose of a drug which I thought was amphetamine, but which turned out to be a South African street drug which has been described as “poor man’s cocaine”. It’s scary to think that we took something we didn’t really know what it was, says Stokkeland to the state channel.

He goes on to say that it was stupid, and that he and those he was with thought they were in control.

The incident happened in 2018, while Stokkeland was 19 years old. During a holiday in Johannesburg in South Africa, things went wrong.

LOOK NOW: During Arendal Week in 2022, Stokkeland provoked reactions when he brought out hashish during a political debate:

– We were in the city and were going to try an intoxicant, of which I did not notice any particular effect, to begin with. I continued to take, more than the others, and eventually noticed that I have a very high heart rate and chest pain. When we got to my friend’s house, I had an extreme panic attack, he says.

Furthermore, Stokkeland says that he tells about the incident to highlight how dangerous it can be to use drugs, as well as how important it is to contact help.

He has previously tried hashish and marijuana, according to himself, but has not used illegal drugs after his study stay in South Africa in 2018.

MDG leader Arild Hermstad thinks Stokkeland is brave for coming forward with the story, and is happy that it worked out in the end.

– I hope Tobias’s openness will help make it easier for others to seek help in difficult situations where the lives of young people with their lives ahead of them may be at stake. As a society, we must ensure that it feels safe to seek help when they get into trouble, even if they have done something stupid and used illegal drugs, says Hermstad.