Thursday 24th July 2008
Party-pill users who have switched to new drugs since the BZP ban could be consuming illegal substances without realising, experts warn.
The Health Ministry has confirmed it had asked Environmental Science and Research to test only four brands of the new, non-BZP party pills - not enough to ensure the substances are safe, the Drug Foundation says.
A government ban on BZP in April prompted an influx of new pills, many of which contain unknown substances.
A visit to Wellington party pill retailers revealed at least 20 new varieties, with many more sold on the Internet.
Matt Bowden, who developed BZP-based party pills, said pills such as Neo-Doves were being imported, but tests showed they may contain a banned substance.
"People are buying things from overseas without realising that they could be illegal."
The ministry has defended its testing, saying the brands it had analysed - Hummer, Move, Groove, and Vegas Nights - were the four most popular.