KEY POINTS:
Many of the party pill poppers on the West Coast are respectable seniors, including shift workers who use them to stay awake.
The Government is expected to outlaw or restrict the sale of herbal pills because of concerns at the effect they are having on young people.
One Greymouth supplier, who declined to be named, today said his regular customers came from a wide range of ages and occupations including truck drivers and farmers, who used the pills as a "pick up" during long shift work.
Recovering drug and alcohol addicts also used the pills as a crutch when they feared a relapse was imminent.
"The trouble is not with the legalised pills, it is the unlabelled stuff some dodgy people are selling out of their pockets."
Another supplier said the age and respectability of the regular buyers of party pills had been a great surprise.
"Some of them are grandparents ... drivers, or people who work night shifts use them to stay alert ... people who don't drink alcohol take them on social occasions and don't have a hangover the following day."
However, that Greymouth retailer had decided not to stock the tablets any more after a recent burglary.
"We were recently burgled for our party pill stock and the mess and damage caused has made us decide to drop that line."
Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn, a strong opponent of party pills, was surprised to learn that they were also popular among senior citizens but he said that did not lessen his wish to see them banned. He has previously taken his concern to Parliament, urging a ban on sales.
"We have got 13 and 14 years olds using them and it's just a stepping stone or gateway to harder drugs. As a society we cannot afford that. We have to nurture our youth," Mr Kokshoorn said.
"The main ingredient, BZP, is so potent it is banned in America and Australia so why do we have to be so liberal here in New Zealand?"
He said Parliament would soon rule on a bill seeking restrictions on sales of party pills and this could provide a "win-win" solution by confining their sale in pharmacies.
"If that was the case, the kids would not get their hands on them and the responsible adults who do use the pills in their everyday life could still legally obtain them from the chemist."
- NZPA
