POLICE MAY CHARGE 'LEGAL ECSTASY' DISTRIBUTOR

In The Wake Of A Man's Death, Officers Are Looking At Whether The
Pill's Sale Violates The Food And Drug Act

In an unusual legal move, Toronto police said yesterday they are
pursuing criminal charges in the sale of Pure Rush, a legal ecstasy
alternative that may be linked to the recent death of a 55-year-old man.

"We are in consultation with the federal Department of Justice and
Health Canada, and we believe there is an offence under the Food and
Drug Act," said Detective John Margetson of the downtown-east 51 Division.

A toxicology report is not yet complete, but the man's boyfriend told
police that he had taken Pure Rush shortly before he collapsed at the
Guvernment nightclub and was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Adam Wookey, manager of Purepillz, the company that distributes Pure
Rush, said that the active ingredient, benzylpiperazine (BZP), is
very safe and that any connection to the death of the middle-aged
club-goer, who police say had a pre-existing heart condition, is
tenuous at best.

"They think all drugs are the same thing; they don't realize that BZP
has this great safety record," he said.

BZP is a stimulant that was sold legally in New Zealand for years as
an ecstasy alternative, and a recent review by the European Union
drugs agency concluded that "there is a need to control BZP, through
measures appropriate to the relatively low risks of the substance."

It was banned in the United States in 2002, and subsequently in other
countries, when studies found that its effects closely mimicked those
of methamphetamines. There have been at least two deaths worldwide
linked to BZP, but in both fatalities it was mixed with illegal
substances such as MDMA (real ecstasy).

Charges could be laid against Purepillz under a section of the FDA
that prohibits the sale of any substance that is purportedly safe and
natural but which in fact is not, according to Detective Margetson.

"Health Canada is exploring having [BZP] classified as a controlled
substance under the CDSA," he said, referring to the Controlled Drugs
and Substances Act, the legislation under which most street drugs are outlawed.

Mr. Wookey said his priority was to keep his products available
because he feared that outlawing BZP would push his customers to buy
illegal drugs on the streets instead.

"It's not going away - look online," he said, referring to sites
including Partypills.ca that offer BZP products. "There is a demand
for these types of products and we need to take control of this and
make it safe. Are we just going to keep adding to the pile of illegal
drugs, adding more profits to the underground drug trade?"