The strong stand against party pills taken by Christchurch's Cruz gay nightclub and others has raised the issue of how safe or unsafe they are, and their place, in gay community nightlife. Following GayNZ.com's initial feature story on the controversy (search: "Are BZP party pills a problem?") Craig Young summarises the published documentation to help further clarify the issue as it currently stands. Recently, the New Zealand Government has proposed to declare “herbal highs” (or “party pills”) as Class C substances under the Misuse of Drugs Act. As matters currently stand, they are restricted items under the same legislation, and can only be sold to those over eighteen, with provision for health warnings and bans on media advertising. If they are supplied to under-eighteens, the vendors can be fined $10,000. What are “party pills?” According to the government's Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs, they consist primarily of one particular active component, benzylpiperazine (BZP, for short). Benzylpiperazine is a stimulant, derived from the pepper plant, and while it binds to serotonin receptors, party pills are not considered antidepressants, nor do they have any other clinically verified therapeutic functions. BZP was originally synthesized as an antiworming agent for sheep. In ‘party pills', it is usually combined with triflourophenylmethylpiperazine (TFMPP), and reportedly has effects similar to MDMA/Ecstacy. Bear in mind, though, that recreational drugs are often adulterated with other substances, although concrete clinical data has not provided any detailed findings on what might be commonly encountered. According to Auckland's Community Alcohol and Drug Service, it is primarily polydrug use that includes party pills as part of its repertoire that has concerned pharmacologists and toxicologists. It may be taken to counteract the relaxant effects of alcohol and cannabis. There has been one reported case of what seemed to be a BZP-related fatality, which later turned out to have been caused by a drug mixture that included MDMA (Ecstacy), in the United States. There is conflicting evidence (from Massey University's SHORE drug research programme) that seems to indicate that while “party pills” act as a “gateway” to harder and toxic drugs (for 13.5% sampled), for many more (44.1%), their relative legality acts as a disincentive for use of those same harder drugs. However, this appears to be unrelated to the pharmacology of BZP use itself, as it is not reported to produce either physical or psychological addictive effects in users, nor are there adverse effects from relative overdoses. What are the short-term effects of this substance? The New Zealand Drug Foundation's information sheet reports that loss of appetite, insomnia, fatigue, dehydration, self-perceptions of stress and moodiness, headaches, nausea, convulsions, hallucinations and increased heartbeat rate can result from consumption. As yet, though, there is little to suggest that users experience recurrent long-term adverse reactions to this substance, or why they do so. In addition, SHORE has reported that alcohol consumption and driving also frequently occurs while also under the influence of BZP. According to SHORE's research, most users are aged fifteen to twenty four, and are either in paid employment or students. While there has been some concern expressed about injection of BZP, SHORE data indicates that most ‘party pills' are so named precisely because pills are the preferred delivery method for the drug in question, and the New Zealand Drug Foundation is skeptical about development of BZP injection as an alternative delivery method. Recommended: National Drug Policy: The Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs (EACD) Advice to the Minister: April 2004: Ref No. 20045663 http://www.ndp.govt.nz “Party Pills”: New Zealand Drug Foundation: http://www.nzdf.org.nz C.Wilkins, M.Girling, P.Sweetsur, T.Huckle and J.Huakau: Legal Party Pill Use in New Zealand: Prevalence of Use, Availability, Health Harms and Gateway Effects of Benzylpiperazine (BZP) and triflourophenylmethylpiperazine (MFMMP): Centre for Social and Health Outcomes, Research and Evaluation: Massey University (Albany Campus): Paul Gee, Sandra Richardson, Wolfram Woltersdorf and Grant Moore: “Toxic Effects of BZP Based Herbal Party Pills in a Prospective Study in Christchurch, New Zealand” New Zealand Medical Association Journal: 16.12.2005 Paul Gee and Sandra Richardson: “Researching the Toxicity of Party Pills” Kia Tiaki: 2005. Craig Young - 24th February 2007