This week the Chairman of the Athlone Drug Awareness Group, Cllr. Frankie Keena issued a warning to parents in an effort to highlight to them the fact that the drug BZP, commonly known as the “the party pill”, is being openly sold in a number of shops in Athlone and also in other outlets throughout the Country. Under the present legislation the Gardai cannot do anything about it, he added.
It is one of the functions of our Group to make people aware of various types of drugs that are in circulation and now unfortunately we are faced with ruthless people exploiting a legal loophole by selling this drug and associated products that are conducive to the use of illegal drugs, he stated.
Most notably they offer the drug known as BZP, or the party pill, which is a recreational drug with euphoric, stimulant properties.
BZP is also known as “Legal E”. It is a synthetic stimulant drug with the chemical name benzylpiperazine. A 50-200 mg dose of BZP can lead to a sense of increased alertness, while the sense of taste, sound and colour may be enhanced. Such effects can last between four to eight hours, depending on the amount taken, the user’s mood, metabolism and environment. Users report an inability to sleep for as long as ten hours after the effects have subsided. BZP can leave users with symptoms similar to a hangover, such as headache, fatigue, reduced appetite and nausea. There is also a possibility of slight memory loss. Tolerance to the substance develops, which means the user increasingly needs more to get the same effect.
This is a dangerous addictive drug, and is freely available to and targeted at young people, who are the most vulnerable and impressionable people in our communities, said Cllr. Keena.
In March 2008, an EU decision placed BZP under control measures and criminal sanctions across the member states. Eight EU member states, namely, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Malta and Sweden, already control BZP under drug control or equivalent legislation, while two other states, Spain and the Netherlands, regulated it under their medicine-related legislation. Other Member states must act as soon as possible, but no later than one year from the date of the Council decision, to introduce control measures and criminal sanctions.
Ireland has until March 2009 to introduce legislation to declare BZP as a controlled substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977. This will make the possession and sale of BZP illegal, added Cllr. Keena.
Presently the Gardai have not got the necessary legislation behind them to make arrests with regard to this drug.
Unfortunately there are a number of these shops in Athlone that sell this drug and even though their owners have found a legal loophole to operate, every immediate effort needs to be made to encourage them to stop selling it. These people are a scourge to our society as they are introducing our young people to the drug scene through this legal loophole, he said.
This pill is addictive and once somebody becomes addicted to something it is very difficult for him or her to stop using it, irrespective of whether its sale is banned.
I have been told that this pill has caused major problems in New Zealand, where it is banned, because before it was made illegal there, much harm was caused by side effects attributed to its use.
Therefore it is imperative that relevant legislation be introduced before the end of the year. I have lobbied my Oireachtas Colleagues to bring forward legislation to outlaw the sale of this dangerous drug as soon as possible, said Cllr. Keena. In fact I feel we should go a step further by banning the sale of products that are conducive to the use of legal drugs, he concluded.
It is one of the functions of our Group to make people aware of various types of drugs that are in circulation and now unfortunately we are faced with ruthless people exploiting a legal loophole by selling this drug and associated products that are conducive to the use of illegal drugs, he stated.
Most notably they offer the drug known as BZP, or the party pill, which is a recreational drug with euphoric, stimulant properties.
BZP is also known as “Legal E”. It is a synthetic stimulant drug with the chemical name benzylpiperazine. A 50-200 mg dose of BZP can lead to a sense of increased alertness, while the sense of taste, sound and colour may be enhanced. Such effects can last between four to eight hours, depending on the amount taken, the user’s mood, metabolism and environment. Users report an inability to sleep for as long as ten hours after the effects have subsided. BZP can leave users with symptoms similar to a hangover, such as headache, fatigue, reduced appetite and nausea. There is also a possibility of slight memory loss. Tolerance to the substance develops, which means the user increasingly needs more to get the same effect.
This is a dangerous addictive drug, and is freely available to and targeted at young people, who are the most vulnerable and impressionable people in our communities, said Cllr. Keena.
In March 2008, an EU decision placed BZP under control measures and criminal sanctions across the member states. Eight EU member states, namely, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Malta and Sweden, already control BZP under drug control or equivalent legislation, while two other states, Spain and the Netherlands, regulated it under their medicine-related legislation. Other Member states must act as soon as possible, but no later than one year from the date of the Council decision, to introduce control measures and criminal sanctions.
Ireland has until March 2009 to introduce legislation to declare BZP as a controlled substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977. This will make the possession and sale of BZP illegal, added Cllr. Keena.
Presently the Gardai have not got the necessary legislation behind them to make arrests with regard to this drug.
Unfortunately there are a number of these shops in Athlone that sell this drug and even though their owners have found a legal loophole to operate, every immediate effort needs to be made to encourage them to stop selling it. These people are a scourge to our society as they are introducing our young people to the drug scene through this legal loophole, he said.
This pill is addictive and once somebody becomes addicted to something it is very difficult for him or her to stop using it, irrespective of whether its sale is banned.
I have been told that this pill has caused major problems in New Zealand, where it is banned, because before it was made illegal there, much harm was caused by side effects attributed to its use.
Therefore it is imperative that relevant legislation be introduced before the end of the year. I have lobbied my Oireachtas Colleagues to bring forward legislation to outlaw the sale of this dangerous drug as soon as possible, said Cllr. Keena. In fact I feel we should go a step further by banning the sale of products that are conducive to the use of legal drugs, he concluded.
