PARTY PILL LAW WOULD 'BREACH BILL OF RIGHTS'

A bill to criminalise party pills has hit a snag before making it to
Parliament, with legal advice suggesting supply limits could be too
low to secure a conviction.

The Misuse of Drugs (Classification of BZP) Amendment Bill was
introduced to Parliament yesterday, and seeks to elevate products
containing benzylpiperazine, the most common active ingredient in
party pills, to the same status as cannabis.

But in an evaluation of the bill, Attorney-General Michael Cullen -
using Crown Law advice - said it breached the Bill of Rights Act.

Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton announced the planned bill in
June, saying he hoped to have legislation passed by Christmas. The
proposed law change was scheduled to take effect on December 18, but
could be delayed if changes are needed.

Like other supply offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act, the bill
reverses the onus of proof for those accused of supplying BZP from
being presumed innocent to being presumed guilty.

Though most drug supply charges also breach the Bill of Rights Act
for that reason, they are considered to be of such a serious nature
that those concerns are outweighed.

But Dr Cullen said the amount of BZP set out in the bill deemed to be
for supply - five grams, about enough for 100 party pills, and the
same amount relating to supplying methamphetamine - is "not
sufficiently high that it is safe to conclude that there is a high
probability that the purpose of possession of the drug is supply".

He referred to a Supreme Court judgment that suggested the threshold
required to avoid contravening the Bill of Rights Act must be so high
as to make it "highly probable" the purpose of possession was supply.

Mr Anderton said the advice from the expert advisory committee on
drugs, comprised of toxicologists, pathologists and chemists, was
that five grams would be considered "reasonable" for presuming a
purpose of supply. "One hundred pills is plenty, you could hardly
argue you were planning a big night out, or even a big month out, and
they were all for you."
was that 5g would be considered "reasonable" for presuming a purpose of supply.