INDUSTRY WORRIED ABOUT LEAKED PARTY PILL REPORT

A leaked report on a study into the effects of BZP has the party pill
industry worried that the Government will use it to decide if the $30
million industry should be closed.

Matt Bowden, chairman of Social Tonics Association of New Zealand,
was commenting on a report on a Government-funded study into the
drugs, leaked to, and published today by the Herald on Sunday
newspaper, which says the study has been aborted because of the toll
it was taking on participants in the trial.

Mr Bowden's association, representing 70 per cent of Kiwi party pill
companies, claimed the BZP doses given in the study were higher than
those users normally consumed.

"When thousands of people are taking these pills, we never see 43 per
cent of them suffering adverse effects," he told the Herald On Sunday.

The report, according to the paper, says BZP - the main ingredient in
party pills - has severe negative effects, especially if it's taken
with alcohol. After consulting the National Ethics Committee,
scientists ended the trial because participants began to suffer
nausea, dizziness and hallucinations.

The paper claims the confidential report, commissioned by the
Ministry of Health and due to be released publicly within a few
months, explains the dangers of the legal highs which have been sold,
with few restrictions, in shops around New Zealand for seven years.

In the draft report the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand
says that "the consumption of party pills containing BZP either alone
or in combination with alcohol in the recommended doses carries the
risk of severe adverse effects".

Party pills affect sleep and cardiovascular function in a similar way
to methamphetamine, or P, the report claims. One of the authors,
Professor Richard Beasley, suggests the report has "personal,
community, public health and regulatory implications".

The paper said the 34-page study says that 43 per cent of the 35
people who participated - mainly males - suffered "severe adverse
events" after being given a mixture of alcohol and BZP. More than 80
per cent reported suffering a dry mouth, nose and throat when using
BZP. About 35 per cent said that they vomited, experienced vision
problems, felt dizzy, had difficulty passing urine, were confused and
became agitated. Thirty-two per cent said their libido took a knock.

Mr Bowden told the paper that the report reeked of bad science.

Mr Bowden says he is concerned the report has not been made public
because the authors are waiting for it to be published in a medical journal.

"How can the Government consider something that hasn't even been
reviewed by the medical profession?"

The minister responsible for drug policy, Jim Anderton, says he is
confident the research - one of four studies - is a fair reflection
of the situation, and says it is not a problem that only two brands
of BZP, Jet and Bliss, were used for the study.

"It is not as though you have to have evidence that every single
packet of something is dangerous." He concedes that the findings
differ from other local research, such as a University of Auckland
study which did not recommend stricter regulations.

A recommendation on the fate of party pills will be made to Cabinet
in May, after a consultation process. Health Ministry officials are
preparing a requested copy of the report for the United Nations.
Almost half the Government's 2006 drug advisory committee research
budget was spent on BZP.