Dean Jacqui: Misuse of Drugs (Classification of BZP) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Dean Jacqui: Misuse of Drugs (Classification of BZP) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:645;Page:14650] 
JACQUI DEAN (National—Otago) 
: 
 I am happy to speak in support of the Misuse of Drugs (Classification of BZP) Amendment Bill. My only regret is that it is in my view 2 years too late if not 3 or 4 years too late. 
The Misuse of Drugs (Classification of BZP) Amendment Bill is a short bill. It simply has the effect of changing the classification of benzylpiperazine (BZP) and related substances from a class D to a class C drug the same as cannabis. BZP is an ingredient used in the majority of party pills which are used recreationally to enhance confidence to induce feelings of well-being and to work for long periods of time without a break. BZP is also used by a number of people to self-medicate out of situations in which they feel unhappy—situations such as mental illness. I have heard of sufferers of mental illness taking BZP because it makes them feel better than their prescribed drugs do and of young people in troubled circumstances who again have self-medicated with BZP because it makes them feel happy and takes them out of their difficult circumstances. I have been told that there are truckdrivers and taxi drivers who use BZP because it helps them to stay awake. Research has shown that a certain dosage of BZP enhances driving. Unfortunately the effects of BZP are so random and unable to be calculated that I suggest that would be a very dicey way to go. 
As a class D drug BZP could legally be sold to those aged over 18 but under the legislation restrictions were placed on advertising and free giveaways. By changing the classification to class C it will become illegal to sell possess or consume BZP party pills but there will be a 6-month amnesty period for personal use. 
The problem with this bill being held over from last year’s parliamentary sitting to this year’s parliamentary sitting is that a number of sellers and consumers but mostly sellers of BZP have had a golden opportunity to stockpile stocks of BZP and although in the 6-month period following the passage of this bill they will not be able to sell BZP legally an awful lot of BZP is stockpiled out there so I fear we will have the presence of this psychoactive drug in our society for some considerable time—that is until the next psychoactive drug comes on the scene. This bill introduces a 6-month amnesty period for personal use. This allows individuals with leftover BZP pills to avoid prosecution immediately after the bill comes into force given BZP’s previous status as a legal drug. 
This bill is a long time coming. In my view it has been too long in coming. In the 2½ years I have been a member of Parliament the Minister has talked about getting tough on drugs yet here we are in March 2008 only at the second reading stage of this bill. I fear that the amount of warning the Minister has given this $30 million a year industry by saying he is really going to do something about this issue and by saying how strongly he feels about this issue has given the industry any amount of time to establish BZP markets networks and a clientele in practically every little town not to mention city the length and breadth of New Zealand. I hold the Minister responsible for that. 
This has been a very public issue. I first became aware of BZP in party pills back in October 2005 when a party pill shop opened in my home town of Oamaru. I have lobbied the Minister for the subsequent 2½ years and we are only just now debating this issue in the House. I will talk about some of the medical effects of BZP. BZP—or benzylpiperazine—is the key ingredient in these so-called party pills. The popularity of the pills has increased markedly in recent years due—and I agree with the Minister over this—to their legal status and the perception of their safety. BZP mimics the effects of methamphetamine giving users a high with exaggerated blood pressure heart rate and metabolism. Other side effects can include anxiety collapse agitation nausea and seizures. Advocates of BZP who are of course making a good deal of money out of the sale of it claim it offers users of illegal drugs a safer alternative and therefore would displace illegal drug use. However a Victoria University study disputes this myth showing that party pill users are 10 times more likely to be users of LSD Ecstasy and Ritalin. The report’s author Kate Bryson concluded: “party pills are not fulfilling their purpose of reducing illegal drug use—for drug users they’re just another item on the menu.” This conclusion is shared by Theron et al who noted that an increase in BZP presentations to Auckland City Hospital did not reduce amphetamine presentations.  
The danger of BZP is compounded by its potential status as a gateway drug to harder drugs such as LSD Ecstasy and methamphetamine in the same way that cannabis is. Current research offers an unclear picture of the interaction between BZP and illegal drugs because of BZP’s recent entry into New Zealand society. That is a study by Dr Chris Wilkins. But research increasingly reports that faith in BZP’s safety is in fact misplaced. Emergency departments around New Zealand have noted a worrying rise in admissions of BZP users and the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs stated in its advice to the Associate Minister of Health: “Severe adverse effects appear to be uncommon but occur unpredictably and have been reported at apparently low doses.” It goes on to state: “Toxic effects including hyponatraemia and BZP related grand mal seizures that have been described even at relatively low doses while very rare have the potential to lead to death.”  
So that begs the question why have we waited? Why have we waited to recognise the dangers to our kids posed by BZP? To me it is right and sensible to rely on an evidence base for decision making but I say to Minister Jim Anderton that I think as politicians we also have a responsibility to our communities and to those young people in our societies who are not able to make a good sound decision about drug use. Although we currently have a limit of 18 years much younger kids have taken BZP. We cannot expect our young children to make good decisions about drugs of any kind particularly when we see party pills for sale next to jelly beans in the local dairy.  
In closing I support the passage of this bill but I regret that it has taken so long and I regret that we now have in our society the expectation that chemicals are part of a good time.