Drug trends

The BZP party pill industry grew rapidly from 2000 until 2008 when BZP was criminalised. The industry estimated that 5 million BZP party pills were consumed in 2007, and over 20 million were consumed since the industry was established.

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

In 2004the government's Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs (EACD) found there was insufficient evidence to classify BZP under the Misuse of Drugs Act (thereby making it illegal). However, the Committee did recommend restricting the sale of BZP.

Following this, a number of research projects were commissioned and, based on their findings, the EACD recommended that BZP party pills be classified as a Class C1 controlled drug. Parliament passed a law to this effect in March 2008, making BZP and related substances illegal.

According to the latest Drug Use in New Zealand Survey 2007/2008 published in 2009:

• 13.5 percent of 16- to 64-year-olds have ever used BZP party pills and 5.6 percent used in the previous year
• use peaked in the younger age groups 16 to 17 and 18 tp 24, with males more likely to use than females
• the most common place to use was in a nightclub or bar
• half of all past year users used once or twice in the past year and one in seven used at least monthly
• one in four past year users reported having driven a motor vehicle in the past year while feeling under the influence and 14.5 percent had worked
• alcohol was frequently used in combination with BZP party pills with 80.7 percent of users combining alcohol and BZP party pills
• 0.5 percent of past year users received help to reduce BZP party pill use and 1 percent had wanted help but not received it
• 10.3 percent of past year users experienced harmful effects from use of BZP party pills, most commonly on their friendships or social life and home life.

Note: this data was collected when BZP party pills were legal.

Since the criminalisation of BZP, party pill retailers have stocked party pills with different ingredients. As yet there is no research evidence examining the impact of the ban in terms of a black market or changes in illicit drug use.