BAN ON PARTY PILLS FUELS STREET DEALS

BLACK-market offers of pure benzylpiperazine are already circulating
the streets of Hawke's Bay ready for the ban on party pills which
starts at midnight tonight.

Users are being offered pure BZP, the only active ingredient to be
banned, at prices as low as $20 a gramme. Each of the banned party
pills contains between 75 and 200 micrograms of the stimulant and
retail for about $5 a pill.

Hastings CIB detective Dave de Lange said police were aware of the
possible street dealings once the law came into effect and were
ready to enforce the ban.

Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, the law will mean BZP will be treated
as a class C drug, putting it in the same category as cannabis, and
will carry penalties that could include three months in prison.

Suppliers could be jailed for up to eight years.

"Some people may choose to stockpile them in order to sell or
supply, but they will pay the consequences,' Mr de Lange said.

"If people choose to ... they can surrender any tablets to the
police in order to avoid prosecution.'

Users have been given a six-month amnesty to use up their existing
supply of party pills, however.

The personal use threshold is no more than 100 pills or five grammes of BZP.

The banned substance is known to have an hallucinogenic-amphetamine
effect on users creating a euphoric high. Its safety was brought
into question by the Ministry of Health when some users suffered
from insomnia, anxiety, nausea, vomiting, palpitations, muscle
spasms, and urinary retention.

The side-effects didn't seem to deter customers at Marewa Liquor in
Napier, however, which sold out of its party pills by Saturday.

Marewa Liquor manager Avtar Singh said while many retailers slashed
prices to get rid of stock before tomorrow, his were sold out at
retail price by the weekend.

"We had lots of people come in thinking they would be cheap, but
there was too much demand.