Melanotan II, Barbie drug: Illegal injection could slowly kill people desperate for a tan news.com.au Australia's leading news site for latest headlines Peptides are having a moment, but not all of them are harmless., One thats getting a lot of attention right now? Melanotan II., Its being used to achieve a tan from the inside, but what it No, you don't need the 'Barbie drug' to tan, whatever TikTok says. Here's why melanotan II is so risky Your body already makes a hormone that tells your skin to tan. Melanotan 2 is a synthetic peptide engineered to mimic that hormone but in a version that's more potent and longer lasting than