Pubdate: Mon, 14 Dec 2009
Source: Dominion Post, The (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2009 The Dominion Post
Contact:  http://www.dompost.co.nz
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2550
Author: Michael Fox
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hallucinogens.htm (Hallucinogens)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

ECSTASY PILLS REVEAL ALARMING COCKTAIL

Ecstasy users are unwittingly taking other potentially more dangerous
substances including P, as drug dealers become more reckless,
officials warn.

The trend is increasing the chance of accidental overdose and causing
concerns for law enforcement and health authorities.

Testing of what was believed to be ecstasy (MDMA) tablets by
Environmental Science and Research, revealed a cocktail of other
substances, including P (methamphetamine), BZP and mephedrone - linked
to the death of a British 14-year-old girl last month.

The tests were carried out on a number of illicit pills this year with
results showing the majority contained BZP - the main ingredient in
party pills made illegal in April 2008 - and mephedrone, a new
substance in New Zealand similar to ecstasy.

ESR forensics general manager Keith Bedford said the results showed
there was a "blurring of the boundaries" between different drugs, as
traditional markings on pills became less reliable.

"The risk is much broader and there are quite unusual and new
substances appearing [with] minimal information about their toxicity
or long-term risks."

A United Nations report on drug trends in East and South East Asia,
issued last month, showed ecstasy was now New Zealand's most popular
drug, behind cannabis. It showed 25,806 tablets seized in 2008
compared with 4123 the year before.

National Drug Intelligence Bureau coordinator Detective Inspector
Stuart Mills said the trend of mixing substances was among the police
agency's main concerns.

"We are aware that tablets that are being sold as MDMA or ecstasy
tablets don't actually contain ecstasy, or only a very small amount,
or they may contain other ingredients such as BZP or other types of
drugs," he said.

The rise of new and untested substances also created difficulties in
judging potential effects, particularly toxicity and the level of risk
the drugs pose, Dr Bedford said.

According to the New Zealand Drug Foundation, ecstasy use is on the
rise in New Zealand. The UN drug study found around 8 per cent of the
population age 15 to 45 had used the drug.

Wellington Hospital emergency physician and drug expert Paul Quigley
said P was being sold as ecstasy as it had wider appeal as a party
drug and could usually be sold for more.

"You can show people a pill and they'll go, 'Oh, it's ecstasy', and
it's not. It could be anything. It could be ketamine, it could be milk
powder, it could be Ajax.

"There is no such thing as the Consumer Guarantees Act for buying
pills off some bloke in a leather jacket in an alleyway." Ad Feedback

He said when authorities carried out a drugs bust it did not deter
manufacturers. "They just start making any old rubbish, whatever
they've got surplus of, press it into a nice tablet, add some food
colouring and put a symbol on it and everyone thinks it's 'E'."

Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell said people now appeared
to be more inclined towards stimulants, rather than relaxing drugs
such as cannabis.

Mr Bell called on police to make substance information available to
potential drug users in a "discrete manner" such as advertising in
nightclub toilets and educating bar managers.

The Myth of Ecstasy

According to Dr Quigley, pure ecstasy is a myth.

When it burst on to the scene in the 1970s it was pure MDMA and its
reputation as an uncomplicated party drug exploded. However, once MDMA
was made illegal in the late 1970s, ecstasy's make-up changed.

The legend of the "round shiny tablet with a logo on it" had grown out
of proportion.

"It's an image," he said.

Ingredients such as Ajax, a cleaning product, and paracetomol have
been used in order to help press the powder into pills.

Dr Quigley said P being sold as ecstasy is not new to medical
professionals - it has a wider appeal as a party drug and could be
sold for more.

It also opens up a new market - affluent professionals rather than P
addicts - and is used as a gateway drug, with dealers then encouraging
regular customers to try other drugs.

Dr Quigley said methamphetamine use appeared to be decreasing as a
result of concerted police efforts and bad press, but along with
increased ecstasy use was also being replaced by hallucinogenic drugs,
such as LSD.

"If you go on a bad LSD trip it's not at all good. They're really,
truly frightening," he said.

Along with LSD, new designer drugs such as mephedrone were appearing,
which health experts had little or no knowledge about.

Home-based chemistry labs were being used to make new drugs such as
synthetic cannabis and capsicum-based hallucinogens, Dr Quigley said.

This was concerning as party drugs had generally been developed in the
first instance to target specific health problems, he said.

Viagra, for example was originally developed to treat angina but it
eventually became used to treat erectile dysfunction. BZP was
experimented with as a way to treat depression and vets trialled it to
treat worms in animals.

Health authorities therefore had data and information about the drugs
and there intended or unintended effects.

As people developed drugs specifically for recreational use there was
no laboratory analysis and "that's caught everyone by surprise", he
said. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake