KEY POINTS:
Party pill manufacturers have developed and stockpiled thousands of BZP alternatives in preparation for an expected Government ban.
Advertising campaigns have begun for mind-altering products that don't contain BZP, but use substances such as kava and caffeine instead.
The newest pills - expected to replace the multi-million-dollar BZP party pill industry - are in secure storage awaiting trials and approval. The developers are remaining tight-lipped about the chemical make-up of their new party drugs but say that the ingredients are not regulated under current law.
Last weekend the Herald on Sunday revealed that a government-funded study into the effects of benzylpiperazine, or BZP, had to be abandoned after trial participants started suffering nausea, dizziness and hallucinations.
Cabinet is expected to meet in May to decide on the future of BZP. Party pill industry insiders are predicting the substance - contained in the 20 million party pills sold since 2005 - will be prohibited, as is the case in Japan, Denmark, Greece, Sweden and Australia.
One of the men behind the new non-BZP pills, who asked not to be named, said: "it will be an exciting time for us, we are going to try and make it better than BZP and much cleaner". He said the industry was "gearing up" for a ban and developing alternatives because "it is quite serious this time, more than ever actually, and we don't know what is around the corner so we need to be ready". Radio advertising was being booked with major networks, he said.
Already in shops are four non-BZP products made for people with an "instant need for turbo speed".
ESR scientist Dr Keith Bedford said it was likely such products contained plant extracts.
According to an article published last September in New Scientist magazine, the next craze for a legal high is likely to be kratom, an extract from a tree native to south-east Asia that's been dubbed the "herbal speedball" for its euphoric and energising properties.
The chairman of the Social Tonics Association of New Zealand, Matt Bowden, wants government consideration given to all substances that have a similar effect as BZP.
"If there is a ban on BZP it would be sensible to put a catch-all mechanism in place so that manufacturers can't just develop copies," he said.
But the Minister responsible for drug policy, Jim Anderton, said he was not "sufficiently briefed" on BZP alternatives. "I've been given no information on this and will need to seek advice."
Anderton said he was not surprised about the latest developments. "These people are interested in making money and don't really care about people's well-being.
"It is a constant battle and there is no final solution."
