In New Zealand, party pills are on the road to becoming
legal. Currently, possession of the banned party pills results in a $300 fine
for violating “legal high” laws. The pills will have to be proven safe before
they will legally be sold, though. Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne stated
that the protection of young people is what’s central to the investigation, not
the criminalization of them. They are looking to be sure that the pills are
safe before allowing them on the market.
If the pills pass the test, they will be sold only to those
older than 18. Manufacturers bending or breaking the laws regulating their sale
and production would be subject to prison time. Advertisement of the pills
would be banned outside of the point of sale, and labels would have to list all
active ingredients (just like other legal drugs).
Just to get there, though, manufacturers are looking at a
$200,000 application fee and up to $2 million in testing fees—a price party pill
industry expert Matt Bowden says the manufacturers are willing to pay. Bowden
says the industry’s annual worth is much more than that, and that testing costs
are a small price to pay for legalization.
There have been reports of negative side effects of the
pills, though, and some people are saying they should be banned permanently.
One teen collapsed after ingesting “Torque” in 2007, and was hospitalized.
Extremely high levels of benzylpiperazine (BZP) and caffeine were in his system
at the time, and he remained in a coma for three weeks.
The testing process for any party pills on the market is
about two years. Clinical trials would need to be included to actually prove
the safety of the pills. And, even if they do become legal, it will be
necessary to take steps to ensure possible consumers are educated about the
product and its risks—just as with alcohol and other drugs.
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