A party pill manufacturer says more people will turn to P and
other hard drugs when BZP, the ingredient in legal party pills,
becomes illegal.
From April, pills containing BZP will be classified as a class "C"
drug. This will make it illegal to possess, manufacture or supply
pills with benzylpiperazine or BZP in them.
But some say the law will do more harm than good.
Ashlee Wahanui has taken party pills from time to time.
"I find them better than alcohol sometimes, just because you're awake. You know what you're doing and you can go on for longer and you don't feel like crap in the morning as well," she says.
Manufacturer Matt Bowden of Social Tonics Association claims that BZP pills have helped users of hard drugs get back on the straight and narrow. He says now they will end up on the black market.
"Prohibition empowers organised crime. Banning these drugs puts them underground. It hands a multi-million dollar industry to the gangs. It's just a stupid idea," Bowden says.
Greymouth DJ Ben Rodden ended up in a coma last February, after he combined pills containing BZP with alcohol. His mum Wendy told ONE News that BZP should have been banned a long time ago.
In 2007, it is estimated that Kiwi's bought around 50 million legal party pills, and those who have a stockpile will have six months to get rid of them.
"The amnesty for BZP is solely for personal use, so if you are selling BZP or dealing with it in any way, apart from personal use, you are liable pursuant to the misuse of drugs act," says National Drug Intelligence Bureau's Detective Senior Sergeant Stuart Mills.
But the new law does not mean party pills will disappear for good.
There are already several BZP-free brands for sale and retailers say they have already sold well overseas in countries like Australia and the USA, where BZP has been illegal for years.
However, from October anyone with BZP in their pocket could end
up behind bars for three months.
