Those people calling for a prohibition on piperazines face one major obstacle. There simply is not any objective evidence on which to do so.
Benzylpiperazine (BZP) and Trifluromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP) are essentially energy tonics. Like other stimulants such as coffee, guarana and mountain dew, people take them to boost and sustain their energy levels while working and playing, including at dance parties.
Their use is becoming more and more common in New Zealand. They have been sold for many years all over the country with few problems. Recently, however, they have come to public attention because of an incident where some young Dunedin locals took too much and ended up taking themselves to hospital.
A thorough search to see what the international studies say about piperazines doesn't turn up a lot. There is no obvious evidence which shows that they cause harm, or that they present any sort of public health danger.
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration temporarily banned them in 2002 they made no verifiable argument that they are dangerous. Their decision seems to have been taken because they were finding its use increasing in the dance party scene. On those grounds the USA should ban bottled water as well.
The only cause for concern in the literature was a single European case where a young woman died after taking BZP. Further investigation shows she had also taken Ecstasy and that she died after drinking a large volume of water – a classic ecstasy related death.
In the Dunedin case, some evidence is now emerging that it could have been a backyard concoction rather than an over the counter product that was taken. It seems that the people involved had also taken an excessive dose. This will occasionally happen regardless of what the law says.
In fact, if piperazines are banned, such incidents will become more likely. Young people will not stop using BZP, but they would no longer have information about the ingredients, the correct dose or possible side effects. Potentially toxic adulterants will be the norm.
This is not to say that we have it right at the moment. Although a voluntary R18 regime was put in place by manufacture and retailers when piperazines first became available in this country, more recent times have seen a number of cowboy operators get involved in the business. BZP is now available at petrol stations and at the corner dairy with no clear guidance on age or use.
Last week the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs (EACD) resisted the calls to recommend that BZP and TFMPP be banned immediately. It would have been a totally unnecessary and potentially dangerous over-reaction if it had. The law requires that a recommendation to ban a drug be based on an objective evaluation of harm, according to strict criteria. The EACD is a professional body and it seems unlikely that they would make a recommendation to classify without an objective basis on which to do so. None exists.
But the committee faces a real dilemma. At the moment they can only recommend a ban or leave it as open slather. They have no ability to make a recommendation for more sensible restrictions such as an age limit or restrictions on which outlets can sell the product.
The Green Party is calling for an amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act to include new 'D' and 'E' schedules. These would allow sale to be illegal while personal use is permitted (D Class) and for sale to be legal but restricted to R18 (E Class). This would provide a more sensible and consistent framework for dealing with different drugs.
Unfortunately, when it comes to people going to dance parties and wiggling til dawn, there is always going to be an element of sensationalism. Dancing all night shouldn't be a crime, but it seems to provoke amazing reactions. I recently read a report that was commissioned by the New Zealand parliament into incidences of youth deviant culture. It claimed that young people were having sex at ever-younger ages and indulging in mind-altering substances with abandon. Older readers might have heard of it – it's the Mazengarb Report, which celebrates its 50th anniversary later this year.
Within its pompous sneerings at young people in the post-war era are the revelations that young women were developing the nerve to ask men to dance, and that young couples were (gasp) kissing. I fear that the same preoccupations are driving this issue today. The tempo of the dance may have increased, and young people are choosing alternatives to liquor (often safer) to accompany the night, but the moral panic remains the same.
