PARTY PILLS BAN WELCOMED

Today's recommendation to outlaw party pills has been welcomed by a
Marlborough man fighting against the availability of drugs, but a
local retailer says tighter regulations are needed more.

The Government has been advised to ban the pills by an expert
committee which has been studying their dangers.

Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton said he was still considering
the official advice from the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs
(EACD), but had taken the step of releasing it today so people were
aware of the pills' dangers.

The EACD has recommended the Government make benzylpiperazine (BZP),
phenylpiperazines and related piperazines, common ingredients in
"party pills", illegal because of the risk of harm.

The pills can be legally purchased by those over 18.

Roy Ramsey of Drug Arm in Marlborough was pleased with the message
that was being sent out by the recommended ban, which was that
taking mind-altering substances was unacceptable.

However, he knew of people who had become addicted to party pills
and he was angry that the Government had taken so long to respond to
the problem. "I'd imagine that people have been stocking up on them.

"The argument was that (the pills) will go underground and then we
lose control, but the reality is that the gangs are selling them,
it's underground now."

Mr Ramsey also wanted the Government to get to the root of the
problem, which was why people were needing to take mind-altering
substances in the first place.

Marlborough mayor Alistair Sowman supported the "sensible" recommendation.

"I think we are walking in the right direction. There's enough
evidence now to suggest that they pose a danger to our youth."

He said users of party pills were also inclined to move on to more
dangerous harder drugs, which was concerning.

It was also positive that more information was becoming available
about the use of party pills, which Mr Sowman hoped youth would take
notice of.

Boots 'n' All store manager Jaysen Baxter said any ban would not
have a huge effect on their Blenheim business, but tighter
regulations were needed more than a total ban. "They need to have
some sort of licensing system brought in on who can import the
ingredients and who can manufacture and sell them, because there
isn't much about like that at the moment. That's a more important
first step."

He said that if the Government were so worried about the health
effects of party pills that it needed to outlaw them, then it would
also need to ban alcohol.

"It seems silly to ban these pills when you can still legally buy
alcohol and cigarettes which are far more hazardous to your health."

Mr Anderton, the minister in charge of drug policy, said considering
the advice was the first step he was required to make in taking any
statutory decision.

He said one trial had shown frequent and severe side effects -
including seizures - from the drug's use, suggesting the potential
for serious harm for some users, even at relatively low doses.

"While there have been on recorded deaths attributed solely to the
use of BZP, we know that severe adverse effects from the use of
party pills occur unpredictably.

"The expert committee was concerned that the seizures which have
been recorded have the potential to kill."