Party pills should be regulated says committee

Legal party pills should be restricted rather than outlawed, a Parliamentary committee has recommended.

The Health Select Committee today reported back the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill (No 3) which amends drug-related legislation.

The committee agreed that low-risk substances used to get high such as benzylpiperazine (BZP) - a main ingredient of some party pills which contains properties resembling amphetamines and ecstasy - should be restricted.

Committee chairwoman Steve Chadwick said there was a general consensus that the substances should be regulated and was in line with the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs' opinion.

"As we still have reservations about the safety of BZP we think that restrictions and guidelines need to be in place. We expect the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs will continue to monitor research on the level of harm associated with BZP and assess the risk it poses," Ms Chadwick said in a statement.

The committee recommended substances be listed in a new schedule which could be amended. Restricted substances could have requirements for advertising, distribution, manufacturing, sale and supply.

The committee also recommended sales be restricted to people aged over 18.

The bill also amends the quantity of methamphetamine that qualifies as being for supply, creates new offences of importing and exporting precursor substances, and creates powers of search and seizure without warrant for precursor substances.

It also proposes shifting the onus of proof for possessing a needle or syringe to the prosecution rather than defendant.

"We consider the reversal of the onus of proof for the possession of needles and syringes will encourage more injecting drug users to use the Needle and Syringe Exchange Programme and we welcome this change," Ms Chadwick said.

New Zealand Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell welcomed the committee's recommendations.

Mr Bell said reports of a Christchurch teenager 'overdosing' on party pills on Saturday night showed a clear need for consumer protection and industry regulation.

The 18-year-old woman nearly died swallowing 10 "party pills" containing BZP. She suffered seizures and breathing problems and was taken to Christchurch Hospital where she remained last night.

The hospital's emergency medicine specialist Dr Paul Gee said the woman "could easily have died if she hadn't had ambulance assistance as soon as she did".

The woman was the third young person admitted via the emergency department in the past month with party-pill related seizures, Dr Gee said.

The department saw three or four teenagers a week with side-effects of anxiety, panic attacks, racing heart-rate, hallucinations, headaches and vomiting.

Mr Bell said the regulations could require suppliers to tell a person taking 10 pills at once would sicken them.

"The amendments provide the framework for party pills to be regulated but not banned outright, a flexible mechanism for harm-minimisation that hasn't existed before," Mr Bell said.

"Had the regulations been in effect earlier, we might not have seen shops selling bulk amounts of party pills at cut-price rates, while the consumer would've been well aware of the risks of taking such an amount all at once."

Mr Bell said at present there was no requirement for people selling party pills to warn people that taking large quantities would make them sick.

"While we can't regulate against personal stupidity, we can regulate against unsafe marketing practice and ensure the consumer is given sufficient information about the risks and effects of party pills."

Associate Minister of Health Jim Anderton said he was pleased with the recommendations but wanted substances such as butane gas and aerosols to be regulated.

His suggestion was rejected because the committee felt these substances were better regulated under existing legislation such as Fair Trading Act and the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act.

Mr Anderton said he would now ask Consumer Affairs Minister Judith Tizard and Environment Minister Marian Hobbs to look at how the butane gas and aerosols could be regulated either by consumer safety standards, manufacturing methods, or other legal ways to protect against abuse.

- NZPA