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Woman legally names her son after a class-A drug in experiment gone wrong

Woman legally names her son after a class-A drug in experiment gone wrong
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An Australian journalist decided to test the limits of what could name her newborn son - and was ultimately shocked when the unique name 'Methamphetamine Rules' got accepted.

ABC presenter Kirsten Drysdale welcomed her third son in July and wanted to see what the limits were when it came to choosing a name for a child.

The question of what people can legally name their child was repeatedly asked by the public on Drysdale's ABC show What the FAQ, and so when the government body wasn't being clear on their stance, the pregnant presenter took matters into her own hands in a quest for answers.

She decided to find this out by giving her newborn son a pretty outlandish name.

The 38-year-old ultimately settled on the given name 'Methamphetamine Rules' and submitted it to New South Wales Births, Deaths and Marriages.


Though it turned out, the Class A drug-based name slipped through and was approved.

“We thought, what is the most outrageous name we can think of that will definitely not be accepted?” Drysdale told news.com.au.

“Methamphetamine Rules we thought would surely get rejected, and then when it does, we can find out what name the Registrar chooses," and added how it has been "a lighthearted, curious attempt" to answer this burning question.

But to her surprise, the name was approved "very quickly" and later received the official birth certificate in the post that had her son's name listed as 'Methamphetamine Rules'.

A spokesperson for Births, Deaths and Marriages described how the “unusual name” had “unfortunately slipped through," as per The Guardian.

Despite making their processes more robust and working with the family to get the baby's name changed to something more conventional, the original name doesn't disappear.

“A name registered at birth remains on the NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages Register forever,” the spokesperson added. “Even if the name is formally changed.”

Current guidelines state that names that are offensive or contrary to the public interest are prohibited, this includes swear words, sex acts and slurs, along with using an official title or rank such as princess, Doctor, Queen, Prime Minister or goddess.

Drysdale and her husband Chris have since changed their son's name but are not revealing it to the public.

“It’s a beautiful name and I can tell you has nothing to do with class-A9 pm drugs," she told news.com.au.

“We think it’ll be a very unique 21st birthday present to tell him this story."

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