TO BAN, OR NOT?

In spite of what the supporters and detractors of party pills think,
the Government does not face a simple choice as it examines
implementing a ban said the Nelson Mail in an editorial on Friday.

The pills have been legal for long enough for them to become strongly
established on the recreational drug list. In the six years since
they emerged as a fashionable new drug they have been sampled by a
high percentage of young New Zealanders.

A survey released in June showed that a startling 38 percent of Kiwis
aged 20-24 had used party pills in the previous 12 months, while
another survey found that one in five aged 13 to 45 had tried them.
These figures indicate very wide use - and acceptance - of a drug
that was previously unheard of, and now the Government is considering
attempting to shut down the supply.

There is a good reason to contemplate this step: after months of
evaluation, an expert advisory committee on drugs, reporting to
Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton, has declared that the primary
ingredient in most of the pills, benzylpiperazene, has worrying
effects on many users and poses a "moderate risk of harm".

Such was the concern that a study by the Medical Research Institute
was stopped because the researchers were concerned about the adverse
effects on its subjects. This, plus a long list of hospital
admissions and anecdotal evidence of illness, proves that BZP is not
as harmless as some of its proponents argue.

However, a ban on this one drug, perhaps extended to include the
other party pill staple, trifluromethylpiperazine, would make
criminals out of thousands of young New Zealanders without stopping
the trade. Party pills would go underground to join the long list of
other illegal recreational drugs available to New Zealanders, some of
which are far more potent and deadly. Is that what Mr Anderton wants?
Of course not. He is acting with the best of intentions but is up
against a youth culture that wallows in intoxication obtained by any
means, legal or not. That is the real issue and it cannot be
addressed by adding party pills to the illegal drug list.

There is no satisfactory answer but the least harmful way forward is
to regulate party pill manufacture and sale with the same rigour
applied to the drug that does most damage, alcohol. At least, users
could rely on accurate information about dosages and make their
purchases untainted by illegality. It's hardly ideal, but better than
a ban that can't succeed.