BUSINESS AS USUAL WITHOUT BZP PILLS

A new generation of party pills are already on the shelves this
morning.

Last night Ashburton retailer Brent Mitchell packed up his remaining
stocks of party pills containing the now outlawed substance BZP, but
it will be business as usual at Herbal Heaven with a new type of pills
ready to go.

From today it is illegal to sell pills containing benzylpiperazine
(BZP) after a parliamentary amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act
reclassified it as a class C drug, putting it in the same category as
cannabis.

For several weeks outlets have been offering huge discounts to clear
stock ahead of the ban.

At Ashburton party pills outlet Herbal Heaven staff member Sharnelle
Cormack was very busy yesterday as many users stocked up on heavily
discounted BZP-based pills while they still could.

"We opened at 10 o'clock and it's been flat out all day," she
said.

Another staff member Lani Hallett said an elderly man had come in with
a box of grapes to trade for a couple of packets of "herbals".

The new law provides for a six-month amnesty for possession of BZP for
personal use but those caught with more than 100 pills or five grams
of BZP could find themselves in court.

Mr Mitchell, who owns Herbal Heaven, said the BZP pills were taken off
the shelf late last night to be handed over to police today.

But he is sure we haven't seen the last of BZP.

"I don't mind that they've made BZP illegal but it won't stop people
using it. I don't know why they ever legalised it in the first place,
only to ban it two years later. There is that much of it out there now
and it will just go underground, you've only got to look on the net to
see what's already out there," he said.

And he pointed out that puts people more at risk.

"At least we could educate people and give them advice. Party pills
are not dangerous unless chased by E (ecstasy) or LSD or alcohol," he
said.

Now he fears BZP will be on the streets without labels and consumers
will have no idea what they are actually taking.

Mr Mitchell has stocked the new generation party pills, which he
described as "chicken soup without the chicken", for around four
months now, but said sales haven't taken off.

He is also angry the Government is making the same mistake all over
again, in allowing the new generation pills to be released without
testing.

"We've been told they are safe by STANZ (Social Tonic Association of
New Zealand) but you would think the Government would be right on to
it this time," he said.