Jacqui Dean National MP for Otago

16 April 2006

NZ should take notice of party pill research

News that New Zealand research may lead to a complete ban on party bills containing benzylpiperazine (BZP) in Australia shows the urgent need to take the research seriously, says National MP Jacqui Dean.

The Melbourne Sun Herald reports that Australian authorities are deciding whether their key ingredients - BZP and trifluromethylpiperazine - should be banned. Some states including NSW and Queensland have already banned them but others have not.

"There is a growing body of evidence - both anecdotal and science-based - that pills containing BZP and sold as party pills are causing serious side effects in people who take them particularly when taken with alcohol," says Mrs Dean.

"They are marketed as a safe alternative to P, yet growing evidence is showing the effects to be unpredictable, with people as young as 12 years experiencing side effects like racing heart, palpitations and convulsions.

"As a result of concerns brought to me about the marketing and sale of party pills, I started a petition calling for further research and much tighter controls on the advertising and sale of party pills.

"The petition of 7500 is with Parliament's Health Select Committee and I will be giving evidence to the committee.

"Cabinet Minister Jim Anderton has sat on his hands for nearly a year while the evidence has mounted about the danger of these drugs.

"I call on him to finally act and to actually do something about this growing problem," says Mrs Dean.

ENDS

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