DRUG BAN CAN LEAD TO ECSTASY, P - STUDY

Use of the illegal dance party drug ecstasy will increase
significantly if new-generation party pills are banned, New Zealand
research shows.

A study by Otago University pharmacist James Green found that
withdrawing the banned substance BZP and any replacement party pills
from the recreational drug market was likely to lead to increased use
of illegal drugs.

In Green's study, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal
yesterday, nearly 120 Otago University students were interviewed last
year about their drug use.

Half of the respondents said they would continue to try and source
BZP on the black market or take new party pills.

About a quarter of respondents said they were more likely to take
illegal drugs now that BZP had been banned.

"Users of BZP were not averse to using other legal and illegal
substances ... In terms of likely substitutes, energy drinks and
amphetamines both produce a degree of alertness, whereas alcohol,
ecstasy and nitrous oxide are more linked to the party scene," Green said.

He said the situation where partygoers were substituting BZP with
illegal drugs would worsen if new-generation party pills were banned.

"Kids are always going to want to get smashed. Government needs to
look at how to ensure they do this safely. Restrictions are a better
way of doing this than banning substances because drugs on the black
market, like speed, are being cut with talcum powder and laundry powder."

Green's study follows an article a month ago by Otago University law
professor Kevin Dawkins in the New Zealand Law Journal where he
accused the Government of rushing through legislation to ban BZP
while ignoring regulatory measures that could have curtailed rampant
use of the drug.

Dawkins said the banning of BZP on April 1 was "legislative folly"
and would push the drug underground and expose users to drugs such as
P and ecstasy.

Social Tonics Association chairman Matt Bowden said it had warned the
Government that banning BZP would boost the market for illegal drugs.