Stewart Barbara: Misuse of Drugs (Classification of BZP) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Stewart Barbara: Misuse of Drugs (Classification of BZP) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:645;Page:14654] 
BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
: 
 On behalf of New Zealand First I rise to support the second reading of the Misuse of Drugs (Classification of BZP) Amendment Bill. It is a very important bill and one that we should have seen earlier. In fact we should have seen this legislation when the Misuse of Drugs Act was talked about in the last Parliament. I remember New Zealand First being the only party to put forward a Supplementary Order Paper seeking to ban benzylpiperazine (BZP) at that point in time because we were unsure of the long-term effects of this particular substance. Needless to say the Supplementary Order Paper was voted down because New Zealand First was the only party that supported it—and perhaps United Future. So we are very pleased to see that this bill has returned from the Health Committee as we believe that this is an issue that needs to be progressed and progressed quite quickly particularly as the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs has issued a report—which we have heard at length—and has advised against BZP being freely available. We need to take notice of those committee members; after all is said and done they are the experts. 
There have been no long-term studies into the effects of BZP on young people and although we have some people who say there are no ill effects it has never been scientifically proven. The substance basically has not been around long enough to have been fully studied and quite honestly we do not want our young people here to be the case studies for other countries around the world where BZP is banned. The substance cannot be guaranteed to be harmless. It is a concern particularly when we see the large quantities that some young New Zealanders have consumed and are consuming. We believe that a precautionary approach to substances such as this should always be taken; we cannot afford to test the water with both feet. This is a whole generation of young people that we are actually experimenting with. We in New Zealand First do not want our young people to be unwittingly part of a huge health experiment—something that has not been done on this scale before. Being a lab rat particularly unwittingly is basically not good enough even though our young people appear quite happy to take these drugs regardless of the risks that surround them. 
We have had reports from emergency departments that indicate a lot of concern by those in the medical profession for the young people who have had bad reactions from exposure to this drug. Unfortunately this has not deterred most young people. When one is young consequences always happen to somebody else never to oneself. Young people drink alcohol and pop party pills even though there is a warning on the pack that these two substances should not be mixed. We know that it is very difficult for some people even to follow the instructions of their doctors and pharmacists when taking prescription drugs so it is no surprise that when young people go and buy these party pills from dairies garages and other outlets they do not follow the instructions on the packs of party pills particularly when they are very keen to get into the party mood. 
I know that some parties in this House say that the health effects of alcohol and tobacco are just as bad if not worse than BZP—and we will hear from those speakers later on—so in New Zealand First we ask why we have to add another substance like BZP to this list. Enough grief is caused by alcohol and tobacco. Have we learnt absolutely nothing? I do not believe that we have. We are trying to do something here and New Zealand First definitely supports this bill. We believe that we cannot afford to gamble with the lives of young people and have future health problems of massive proportions on our hands. We already have more health problems than the district health boards can cope with so why should we add extra challenges? 
We realise that this legislation will not actually stop the party pill culture or the widespread consumption of some other substance promising to offer the same type of buzz or high. No doubt the second generation of party pill is already well on the way and we can only hope that a precautionary approach by the expert advisory committee will be followed on those particular substances because we know that boundaries will be pushed on every substance. 
It never ceases to amaze me and perhaps others in this House that manufacturers never have to prove that party pills are safe before they are actually put on sale yet manufacturers of food drugs and medicines have to do so. It seems rather ironic that a loophole in the Misuse of Drugs Act can be exploited. We know that it is there but we have taken no action to rectify it. Only last year we read of a person who took part in a trial of non-BZP pills and was hospitalised when he found himself with problems like being unable to breathe going numb and having his blood pressure almost doubling. So there are challenges ahead we say. There are lots of issues ahead with party pills; in New Zealand First we look forward to dealing with them. We will have to add all of the new substances to this legislation or even enact other legislation as these new substances become available. 
Another great concern we have with party pills is that manufacturing standards cannot be guaranteed under the current voluntary regulations that operate. We have to acknowledge the Social Tonics Association and its attempt to have a voluntary code for the manufacture of party pills in order to try to limit the amount of BZP in a tablet to place warnings on these coloured and highly emotive sounding packets and to restrict sales to people aged over 18. But of course we know that that code is only voluntary and there is no follow-up to ensure that these manufacturers are actually following this code in any way whatsoever. It is a big concern. 
One of the most urgent problems is the continued supply of BZP in excessive and sometimes dangerous doses by irresponsible operators. To buy it in a paper bag is not really good enough and we know that that has been a particular problem in the Christchurch area. 
New Zealand First is very pleased to see this legislation come before the House. We know that something has needed to be done. We are pleased that at long last it is being done and we look forward to the speedy passage of this legislation through the House.