A meeting of state fair trading ministers, Commonwealth representatives, authorities and experts has decided to extend a ban on synthetic drugs in Australia.

The ban was imposed after a Sydney teenager died falling from a balcony, he was allegedly under the influence of faux-LSD. Originally intended to span sixty days, the ban has now been extended to 120. A leading toxicology expert says recent bans are stemming the flow of drug-takers presenting in emergency rooms.

If retailers are caught selling the synthetic drug analogues they can be fined up to $1.1 million, evidence presented at the hearing over the weekend suggested the large fine has been an effective deterrent. Director of Clinical Toxicology at Newcastle's Calvary Mater Hospital, Ian White, says he was treating up to three synthetic drug users suffering acute psychosis every week before the ban was introduced in New South Wales last month, since the ban that number has dropped to zero.

"Is it driving it underground because people can still buy it from the internet? That may be true, but they're not using it in ways that is resulting in presentations to hospital," Dr White said, “if the object of the exercise was to take the load off emergency departments it looks like it's working."