[AUS] [GBR] Party Pills: to legalise or not to legalise?

I am doing a research project on ‘Party Pills’ as part of my MSc in Substance Misuse (Sussex University, UK). Party Pills are chemically made pills that are sold legally in the UK (usually at the herbal High stalls at festivals or in herbal high shops on the high streets). They are also sold in various other countries but are illegal in countries such as the USA and Australia. The effects of these pills are often compared to illegal drugs such as ecstasy or amphetamines.

My research project is investigating attitudes and expectancies about party pills in Australia and England and then comparing the two countries. I will do this by asking people to fill in a questionnaire. This will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. I need to find at least 150 participants from each country. Very little research has yet been conducted on these drugs so this research is crucial.

I need to find a variety of people who live in Australia to complete this questionnaire. It doesn’t matter if you’ve ever tried party pills or not tried party pills, tried illegal drugs or not tried illegal drugs, everyone can complete the questionnaire!!!! Age range is from 18 to 60 years old. The questionnaire contains background information on party Pills for people who have not heard of them before. The questionnaire is completely confidential. This study commenced in January 2008 and all questionnaires need to be returned by Sunday 15th June 2008.

How do I take part in this?

You can participate through any of the routes below:

Email me at [email protected] and request a questionnaire be emailed to you, complete it on the computer email it back to me

Contact me on [email protected], with your postal address and I will send you a hard copy to complete. This also includes a stamped address envelope to return the questionnaire- hassle-free

Request a questionnaire be emailed to you, Print out the questionnaire yourself, complete it and return it to: S Hiley, c/o 5/628 Crown St, Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW 2010

It is crucial that you sign and return the consent form (page one) with the questionnaire as I am cannot use the questionnaire unless this part is completed (although I will not be keeping the two forms together, if you are concerned about anonymity, please place the consent form in a sealed envelope when returning it with the questionnaire in the post/ send it in a separate email).

I will make the results of this project available once completed in August 2008. If you have any concerns or queries related to this, I can be contacted at [email protected] or via the Bluelight private messaging system.

Many Thanks for helping out

Sarah Hiley

You might want to let people know what's in them, which I found out is Benzylpiperazine. Here's the wiki if anyone wants it - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_pills

razzer said:

Party Pills are chemically made pills that are sold legally in the UK (usually at the herbal High stalls at festivals or in herbal high shops on the high streets). They are also sold in various other countries but are illegal in countries such as the USA and Australia. The effects of these pills are often compared to illegal drugs such as ecstasy or amphetamines.

Click to expand...

this is a very dull explanation for bl imo i still dont have any idea what are they, bzp?

BZP pills were recently made illegal in New Zealand on 1st April. You may want to consider surveying NZs as there was a massive BZP trade here due to our ecstasy being so expensive. Just a thought... Personally, I am pro-BZP and rather grumpy the government here pulled them off of the market. Typical.

Party Pills = benzylpiperazine.

It's a stimulant.

It was used as a cattle wormer in the 1940s and taken off of the market for this use due to studies that indicated it caused future brain damage.

It is a water soluble substance, so taken orally and, in my preference, injected.

Tolerance grows incredibly after the first taste.

I wouldn't liken it to ecstasy, it's more like speed.

so people in the US like me who've used party pills aren't eligible?

Thanks spaceyourbass for that link to party pills on wikipedia

and sorry Slay that the blurb is a bit dull - didn't want to write too much info in the blurb in case it was a bit overwhelming or off-putting. The Questionnaire contains a two-page information sheet which goes into slightly more detail.

So yes i am studying party pills which contain the active ingrediants Benzylpiperazine (BZP) and Trifluromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP). Research into this area is pretty limited at best but good ol' wikipedia has a good summary of what is so far known.Here are further links for anyone interested in reading up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzylpiperazine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TFMPP

What chemicals are in these "party pills?"

Most contain 1-benzylpiperazine, and may or may not also contain 1-(3-trifluoro)phenylpiperazine (TFMPP), 1-(4-methoxy)phenylpiperazine (MeOPP), 1-(4-fluoro)phenylpiperazine (FPP, pFPP), and 4-methyl-1-benzylpiperazine (MBZP).

Yes, she is referring to BZP pills. I had a chat with her about it. There's a separate section in the questionnaire where you can record non-BZP 'legal' party pills. Eg. the neo range, etc.

Thanks Tronica for clarifying that.....

Riconoen, in answer to your question people from any nationality can complete the quesionaire, the main criteria is that the person is currently living in Australia.... so if you fit that then you are more than welcome to participate.

opiferum i can understand your grumpiness! I have a fair few NZ friends who also were not impressed about change in law. I've steered clear of using NZ participants as the majority of research available has already been carried out on you guys and you deserve a rest! No-one has really looked at how they have affected populations elsewhere in the world- hence the comparison between the UK where they are still legal (just) and Australia where they are banned.

happy participating!
Cheers
razzer

Sarah handed in her report and I have copied the title and abstract below:

A Comparison of Knowledge, Expectancies, and Experiences of the Effects of Party Pills and Recreational Illicit Drugs in the UK and Australia

Party pills containing 1-Benzylpiperazine (BZP) and Trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP) are used recreationally due to their likened psycho stimulant effects. Currently legal in the UK but banned in Australia, limited research suggests abuse potential and possible high toxic risks. This study surveyed 207 participants and compared differences between countries of illicit drug users and drug naïve participant’s knowledge, expectancies and experiences of party pill use. Party pill users had sampled more drugs, had a higher risk factor score, smoked more tobacco and consumed more alcohol than the other groups. The drug naïve group rated substances more addictive and dangerous, with long-term side effects more extreme than party pill and illicit drug groups. No user was found to be dependent on party pills; access to health services was very small. No evidence was found to suggest party pills are a gateway drug. UK participants were found to consume more alcohol, take more party pills in a lifetime, as an average dose, and as a maximum dose per session than the Australian participants and have a higher risk factor score. The study could not recruit a group of party pill users who had not sampled illicit drugs. Knowledge of party pills was low across all groups. Minimal numbers of drug naïve participants were willing to sample party pills.

If you would like to read the full report, email Sarah and she'll send it to you.

fuck bzp.
all bzp should be ILLIGAL.
as people have died when mixing bzp with high doses of MDxx

It is illegal in Australia and now I believe also in New Zealand... not sure about the rest of the world, but it's true that researchers have been reporting more 'harms' with BZP, like problems when people mix it with other drugs (deaths or overdoses which is probably more common).

Found it interesting that Sarah was unable to recruit people who used BZP pills who had not used other drugs. Rather than being an alternative, these pills are more of an add-on... or it could be that if those people exist, they don't engage with the same media as everyone else and therefore did not get reached by the recruitment strategy.

They banned bzp in new zealand. Now the companies are making literally billions of dollars, they just come up with a new product. Legal versus illegal is moot, because there are millions if not billions of undiscovered alternatives - that would be like banning one product for the pharma industry, basically pointless.

If you want a heads up on how this all goes, check out the new zealand party pill story. Basically once you have a multi-million dollar industry with active consumers, it doesnt matter what the ingredient is, theyll sell. And given the shear number of alternatives, the future is certain, there will be party pills.

Interestingly, the companies making party pills are quite smart, they tend to self-regulate in order to fit in with social expectations.

In NZ, they are limiting themselves to geranium because its a low-level high, simply to gain acceptance, despite numerous stronger options - they stick to what is okay with everyone users and non-users simply to chase the progress.

Watch and see.