CRAZY DAZE

As growing numbers of sick and agitated party-pill poppers arrive at
Christchurch Hospital, even the industry has concerns about where it's
heading. YVONNE MARTIN looks at the latest chemical craze.

They have, until now, been known as "herbal highs", delivering in pill form
more punch than popular energy drinks such as V and Red Bull. Party pills
have been thought of as harmless and novel accessories to a good night's
clubbing or partying.

At $30 a pop for Jax or The Grunter, they are not cheap. But once
swallowed, it is possible to dance for five or six hours on them, senses on
stalks, and feeling "loved-up" as the spiel goes, with waves of euphoria.

How could they be harmful? They are legal, after all, and for $40 teens can
buy packets of six tablets from the corner dairy or service station.

With names like Jet, Rave, Kamikaze, Rapture, Exodus and Charge, these wee
gems sound a lot more exciting than "dope" or "weed".

But in the last week, the pills that have crept onto shop shelves under the
guise of dietary supplements have come in for renewed scrutiny.

As emergency doctors are discovering, the so-called "herbal high" is a
misnomer that invites young punters to think "if it's herbal, it must be
safe". Yet the party pills are filling hospital beds and worrying doctors,
politicians and drug experts.

At least six patients a weekend are arriving at Christchurch Hospital
feeling agitated, dehydrated and strung out after pill-fuelled nights on
the town.

Fifty people, some as young as 15, suffering from toxic effects after
taking the pills have been reported to the National Poisons Centre in the
last two years.

What gives the pills their kick is a substance called benzylpiperazine or
BZP, made from synthetic chemicals - not plants - and it can be potent.

It has the same effect as illegal amphetamines such as speed, although
one-10th of the strength.

When combined with another piperazine, trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine
(TFMPP), the hallucinogenic effect is similar to ecstasy or XTC.

Suppliers argue that BZP pills provide a safer, legal alternative to
illicit drugs. But, like any drug, they also have side effects, including
agitation, a racing heartbeat, boosted blood pressure, sweating and jaw
clenching. In overdose cases, more serious complications can occur like
hyperthermia, blood clotting, seizures and heart problems.

Originally developed to treat intestinal worms in cattle, BZP was deemed
too toxic for use as an anti-depressant in humans. The drug is banned in
the United States and parts of Australia.

Yet in New Zealand, BZP pills are more prevalent than ever, and in much
stronger doses.

New brands contain far more BZP than their predecessors, and the way they
are marketed is blurring the line with illicit drugs. "Pure BZP" is
advertised as 99.4 per cent strong and Jax as "pseudo XTC".

Some contain, in one pill, the same dose as four tablets of earlier brands,
leading to confusion and, potentially, accidental overdoses.

The mega-pills contain 250mg of BZP, a level the experts say can produce
"unwanted and unpleasant" side effects.

The ever-morphing, million-dollar pill industry has an answer for this,
too: a range of products to ease the "hangover" phenomenon of BZP, which
can last up to three days. A recovery pack of 18 pills could set you back $90.

Medical toxicologist John Fountain, from the poisons centre, sees the
ramped-up BZP pills available over the counter as unacceptable.

"I don't think there is any question about that," he says.

Politicians are looking at restricting sales of the pills, but changes are
unlikely to kick in before mid next year.

It is the latest instance of the recreational drug market charging ahead,
while the authorities ponder how to fix the stable door. Have New Zealand
authorities been caught napping on the latest chemical craze?

Christchurch's Cosmic Corner is a prime example of how attitudes have
softened towards legal party drugs.

Cosmic manager Emily Sultan, who is leaving the High Street shop after two
years, laments how it has lost its "wild-child" image.

When she first arrived, the eclectic lifestyle shop was alternative and
risque. Customers got a feral thrill, and made a political statement, just
by walking in the door.

Now Cosmic Corner sells its range of party pills, tobacco and teas to
mainstream clients in business suits and skirts, and students wanting to
study all night.

"It's a good time to leave," says Sultan.

Even more telling, Cosmic's opening of its latest Christchurch branch in
the Palms mall epitomises just how respectable and mainstream it has become.

It has off-shoots in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin also. They either
open or have manned window booths dispensing party pills 24 hours a day at
weekends.

Sultan recommends Jet, the top-selling energy pill, for "intense energy
that makes me want to dance", whereas love-drug Bliss offers "lovey-dovey
surrealism".

"You feel lots of energy and stay awake for ages."

Tristan Nilsen, who runs a liquor store in Colombo Street, says BZP pills
are popular with professionals, shift workers, long-haul drivers and taxi
drivers.

He also sells them to prostitutes "so they can feign a little enthusiasm".
Nilsen takes a BZP pill once or twice a week himself, but knows of others
with a daily habit.

He gets free samples from fiercely competitive BZP sellers, and is
approached about once a fortnight by suppliers wanting him to carry their
product.

Nilsen refuses to stock the highly concentrated brands and won't sell
unless customers prove they are aged over 18.

BZP pills have been on the market for five years since Matt Bowden, who
runs designer company Stargate International, launched his first range.

They became much more visible since creeping into dairies, inner-city
convenience shops, liquor stores, service stations and dedicated pill bars
such as Herbal Heaven (located downstairs from a Worcester Street massage
parlour).

Party pills headlined in March this year when five youths ended up in
Dunedin Hospital, with heart palpitations and raised blood pressure and
body temperature, after taking the pills.

In anticipation of new laws, the industry has tried self-regulation. Bowden
set up the Social Tonics Association of New Zealand (Stanz), representing
80 per cent of manufacturers and distributors, and produced a draft code of
conduct this year.

Its report estimates that more than five million hits of BZP products have
been consumed in New Zealand so far, with no reports of serious harm or death.

Bowden noted that the industry was covered by 27 acts, regulations,
standards and codes, but is backing Government moves for specific
legislation, such as an R18 sales restriction.

"The only way it would work is with Government endorsement," he says.

Bowden and others fear that some Christchurch retailers are selling pills
from bags without proper labels, jeopardising the industry's reputation and
the consistency of drugs.

"That is why we developed the standards because practices like these are
going to make people sick," he says.

This virtual black market seems confined to Christchurch and Dunedin,
although no-one is entirely sure why.

Bowden would like to see all BZP sellers complete a host-responsibility
course, similar to that in the liquor industry.

One supplier, who spoke to The Weekend Press on condition of anonymity,
says unscrupulous people have entered the industry to make a quick buck.
"What's being sold in plastic bags generally is called BZP baggies or
hummers, which is straight BZP with none of the other stuff in it," he says.

"They are going to India and China and buying the BZP there. They buy a few
kilograms, break it down and sell it."

While it is unknown what they are paying per kilo, two grams of BZP powder
retails at $60.

"It sells because people think they are going to get gruntier and stronger
doses. The industry needs to control those risks."

Cosmic Corner general manager Murray Muir says that full-strength BZP does
not comply with the criteria for dietary supplements because it has no
nutrients in it.

His company puts "buffers" in its tablets to ease the side-effects and
aftermath of BZP.

Ginger reduces the nausea and magnesium/calcium eases the jaw grinding,
Muir says. Ginkgo increases the cerebral blood flow and enhances cognitive
function.

Two outlets with no qualms selling Pure BZP are Herbal Heaven and Castle of
Magic, a magic shop in Colombo Street.

The packet warns: "This product is of high quality and potency. Not for the
faint-hearted. Advanced formula creates an intense mind and body sensory
experience. Dance for hours or socialise. Excellent for long night clubbing
and parties."

Castle Magic's proprietor did not want to talk about his BZP products and
their suitability for a shop attracting a young clientele. He said he only
sold the pills to customers over 18 and had no concerns about Pure BZP.
"It's all the same s..., different package."

Herbal Heaven, on the other hand, is proud of its Pure BZP (99.4 per cent).

"Any purer than that and you are stepping on illegality," says manager Alex
Ryder. (The Ministry of Health confirmed that the products were legal.)

Ryder could not specify what else Pure BZP contained, except that it is a
"non-active powder, just to bulk it up".

Surprisingly, Herbal Heaven also sells Pure BZP in powder form, which Ryder
says some people snort, despite its foul taste.

One chemical importer's safety data sheet says BZP causes burns on skin and
eye contact. If swallowed, BZP causes burns in the throat, oesophagus and
gastrointestinal tract.

Ryder says his lounge - dark, psychedelic, with flashing lights, skulls and
a glass mirror ball - fills a niche market. "If we don't fill it legally,
people will fill it illegally.

"While the gravy train's going, we'll ride it."

Just how risky mind-altering BZP products are, no-one knows for sure.

As early as 1973, a British study found that BZP had similar effects to
amphetamine and was liable to be abused by an addict population. It
recommended that BZP be put under similar statutory control to amphetamines.

Two years ago, US drug-enforcement agents banned BZP "to avoid an imminent
hazard to public safety" for a range of reasons. These included the death
of a 23-year-old woman in Germany who had taken BZP and MDMA, the main
ingredient in Ecstasy, and a high volume of water. No linkage with the BZP
was made and the death apparently displayed hallmarks of an Ecstasy-related
death.

A report by New Zealand's Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs, released in
April, did not recommend banning BZP "at this time".

However, it backed more regulation and control over party pills and further
investigation of their health effects.

A study of the drug's toxic effects is planned by the National Poisons
Centre, which will guide Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton and the
advisory committee on the next step.

Anderton says a fast-track process exists to classify drugs under the
Misuse of Drugs Act as either A, B or C, but the advisory committee has
found no reason to put party pills in those banned categories.

In the meantime, Anderton is proposing a new category D to regulate sales
of the drug, such as restrictions on a minimum age of purchase, retail
outlets, marketing and labelling.

"If the advisory committee came in and said 'we now believe this is a
dangerous drug and should be classified as an A, B or C', I can do that. I
already have authority to do it," says Anderton.

"We've got all bases covered. But as the cheese advertisement says, good
things take time."

Green MP Nandor Tanczos can speak from experience in supporting regulation
of the industry. He has tried earlier versions of the party pills,
recreationally, in his own time.

"I thought it was important to get a sense of its effect," he says.

"It certainly did give me an energy boost. It kept me awake and was quite
pleasant. But I wouldn't want to become dependent on something like that."

The party-pill industry needs regulation to curb its worst excesses,
particularly with cowboy operators, he says.

"We need some appropriate restrictions to keep it more seemly. We need to
restrain advertising which is getting out of hand," says Tanczos.

"We also need to be monitoring usage of it (BZP) and any problems that come
up because we don't have a big picture of it.

"To put it in perspective, there are some problems, but they are relatively
minor compared to just about anything else (drugs) available."

John Fountain, toxicologist from the poisons centre, says the health
effects of BZP are not fully understood because they have not been
adequately studied.

"Concerns have been identified because of the ability of health
professionals and lay people to call the centre and report adverse
effects," he says.

"This has enabled us to quickly advise emergency doctors on managing patients."

It is all part of the crazy dance required by experts to stay ahead of the
drug cooks.