13/03/2008

The developer of party pills today said that the eight year availability of party pills without
a single fatality or lasting injury from their usage was a testament to their safety, and
signaled a strong future for the development of safer alternatives to alcohol and drugs.
Matt Bowden, Founder of Stargate International who first developed BZP based party
pills in New Zealand as a safer solution for P users said this evening "my message for
the last ten years has been that safer non-addictive drug alternatives can be regulated,
and used by drug users as a substitute for harder drugs - and it has worked. Before this
industry began, ‘drug overdose’ meant you were going to a funeral, today it just means
somebody had a day off work. The difference is life vs. death; it is real progress, and we
should be proud of it," said Mr. Bowden.

Industry sources confirm that in New Zealand alone, approximately 400,000 adults
consumed over 26 million pills with no recorded fatalities or lasting injuries. “In the ten
years that I’ve been saying this, alcohol has killed about 1,000 kiwis per year, cigarettes
about 5,000, and party pills have killed zero people. If one compares the safety record of
party pills to the tally of around 50,000 people killed by tobacco and alcohol during those
years, I'd say that this message has proven to be correct."

Mr Bowden said that today’s ban was predominantly a moral positioning statement by
the two main political parties. "If the pills were really dangerous they would have been
banned 6-7 years ago. The politicians pushing for a ban today are probably looking to
attract votes; it is unfortunate that it means 400,000 consumers will probably switch to
illegal drugs. The government tells us the pills have a ‘moderate’ risk of harm, but we
now know from international experts that they are not really harmful enough to ban at
all."

Mr. Bowden referred to a report on BZP published by the European Monitoring Centre
for Drugs and Drug Abuse (EMCDDA) last week categorising BZP as "low risk." In New
Zealand this would mean that the pills are not harmful enough to be made illegal, and
should stay in the R18 Restricted Substances category.

“It is clear that prohibition doesn’t work, it just empowers organised crime because no
matter what we do with supply, the consumer demand for these products is enormous.”
Mr. Bowden said that choice of social tonic was primarily a cultural and generational
issue, “different age groups and cultures have varying musical and clothing tastes, and
likewise they use different stimulants, it’s that simple.

“I am 36 years old, most people I know in my demographic prefer pills that make us feel
social and friendly rather than booze that makes us agro. People in their 20s are even
more accustomed to pill taking. It is normal now, just check your SPAM folder, it is not
going to go away, and we shouldn’t treat this whole demographic as criminals. The
sensible option is to foster an industry to keep developing safer alternatives so people
can make safer choices, that is where I see the industry and regulatory environment
focusing next.”

Mr. Bowden said that both industry and government are working towards a regime
where safety standards are set for new drugs before they are marketed to the public, but
that BZP should have been allowed to stay available until all parties had agreed on a
safer alternative.

“We accurately predicted from what was known about BZP many years ago that it would
be a low risk substance and so it has been, moving forwards we want a system whereby
we put new drugs through the same rigorous toxicity testing as medicines go through to
show that they are low risk before they hit the shelves.”

References:
EMCDDA News Release: “'Appropriate Controls' for BZP.”
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_49695_EN_BZPDecision2008Final
EN.pdf

Risk Assessment Report of a new psychoactive substance: 1-benzylpiperazine (BZP)
https://ednd-cma.emcdda.europa.eu/assets/upload/Risk_Assessment_Report_BZP.pdf

Contact:  Matt Bowden, 021-77-23-23

	PROPOSED RESTRICTED SUBSTANCE REGULATIONS STANZ has instructed Public Law Specialists, Chen Palmer, to draft Restricted Substances Regulations for submission to the Associate Minister of Health, Hon Jim Anderton, as he considers whether to reclassify BZP and related piperazines as a Class C drug or to retain as a Restricted Substance.
	CODE OF PRACTICE FOR RESTRICTED SUBSTANCES The Code of Practice for Restricted Substances is a voluntary code for any business or person that imports, manufactures, stores, distributes or sells any restricted substance .It covers Sale and Supply, Dosage, Labelling etc. The Code and the GMP are in addition to the requirements of the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Act and have been established to further the harm reduction objectives of the Act. It includes the Code of Good Manufacturing Practice for Restricted Substances which is modelled on the New Zealand Code of Good Manufacturing Practice for medicinal Products.
	BZP Consumer Screening Process for Retailers
	Guide to staying safe on Party Pills

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