Drug trends

Since the introduction of party pills (bzp) in New Zealand around the year 2000, an estimated 8 million tablets have been sold, contributing to an annual industry turnover of $26 million per year.

Tablets are often sold in packs of four to eight, costing between $20 and $50. There are many different varieties of tablets that offer differing experiences, depending on what additives the party pill brand contains.

The government's Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs, in a paper presented in 2004, found that there was insufficient evidence to classify BZP under the Misuse of Drugs Act (thereby making it illegal). However, the committee did recommend that there be a mechanism to restrict the sale of BZP, a recommendation that eventually led to the amendment of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975.

Following this recommendation, a number of research projects were commissioned into BZP party pills. Based on the findings from some of these projects, the EACD made a new recommendation to the Minister that BZP party pills be classified as a Class C1 controlled drug. The NZ Parliament passed a law to this effect in March 2008, making BZP and related substances illegal.

Research from SHORE's 2006 National Household Survey of Legal Party Pill Use found that:

• one in five people have tried party pills at least once
• 33.9 percent of 18-19 year-olds and 38 percent of 20-24 year-olds had taken party pills in the previous year
• 5.7% of party pill users had taken them once a week or more often in the previous year
• one in six people had reported driving under the influence of party pills
• nearly one in three users said they drank more alcohol when using party pills
• 13.5 percent of people who use both legal party pills and illicit substances said that they had started using party pills first but now mostly use illicit drugs
• however, 44.1 percent of people in that category indicated that they were using illicit drugs but now mostly use legal party drugs.