Dangerous new ‘legal ecstasy’ drug is a hit with clubbers

“I totally flipped out I was out of control. The world became so colourful and my body reverberated to every beat of the music.” Jonny, a 19-year-old Student from Caledonian Road has just come down from taking BZP a new ecstasy-like drug in Islington’s Turnmills superclub.


Jonny was lucky this time but next time he might have to cope with more than a “slightly sore head and aversion to light the next morning”. The drug, which was originally used to treat parasites in cattle, has already led to the death of at least one clubber and left another in a coma, and it has not undergone any scientific testing.
One thing Jonny doesn’t have to worry about is a visit from the police. Although BZP, aka Legal E, is only a few chemical bonds different from ecstasy, a class A drug, it is not classified as illegal in theUK. In the eyes of the law, taking BZP (Benzylpiperazine) is as innocuous as popping an asprin.
Jonny doesn't have to hang around street corners to buy BZP. He doesn't even need to go to the chemist. He can order online and have it delivered the next day by Royal Mail. One website, www.somethingforyourmind.co.uk, states on it's home page: “Looking for a legal alternative to ecstasy? Then look no further. You will find several legal ecstasy products that you can safely buy online.”
One of the pills for sale is Acceler8, which is described as a “legal speed alternative party pill...by far the best party pill we have found so far.” This pill which costs only £5.50 is a blend of BZP, TFMPP [a related drug] and guarana seed, along with Vitamins and minerals. The website, which does not ask its customers for proof of age, continues: “You really will not believe the strength of this legal speed pill, we feel this is the best legal high pill online!”
The legality and ease of obtaining this drug is thought to have led to a huge increase in demand over the last few years. In New Zealand, where the drug was first used by clubbers, a government survey found that 20 per cent of people had tried BZP. The BZP industry is worth £20m in New Zealand alone, and has made it’s ‘discoverer’ Matt Bowden a millionaire.
It's legal and big business, but whether it’s safe is another matter. Islington Now has discovered that Ben Rodden a 20 year-old DJ from New Zealand is currently in a coma after taking the drug. BZP also contributed to the death of a young woman in Switzerland, who died as a result of brain damage caused by Hyponatremia, also known as water intoxication, a condition caused by drinking too much water while high. Dehydration caused by the drug led her to drink more than 8 litres of water in 90 minutes, putting immense pressure on her brain. Leah Betts, a school girl from Essex notoriously died in exactly these circumstances after taking ecstasy just days after her 18th birthday in 1995. Her death led to new legislation to protect teenagers from the threat of ecstasy.
The dangers of BZP are becoming increasingly obvious to Paul Gee an accident and emergency doctor in New Zealand who said BZP-related emissions were almost unheard of a few years ago but are now commonplace. Between April and September 2005 his team at Christchurch Hospital studied admissions caused by the drug. Two clubbers suffered-life threatening toxicity and brain seizures, another fifteen suffered toxic brain seizures. Sixty-one other patients were admitted complaining of nausea, vomiting, anxiety and heart palpitations.
Worried by the threat posed by this drug, the United States government placed BZP on its schedule 1 rating, the highest possible rating which includes heroin. The drug is also illegal in Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Australia and Japan. Even the New Zealand government, which once hailed BZP as a great weapon in the fight against amphetamine addiction, is currently debating the drug's future as a controlled legal substance.
Why then is this dangerous drug legal in Britain? A Home Office spokesman told The Times that: “BZP is legal because it has never been classified as causing harm as no evidence as been shown to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs [the government body which decides on the legality and classification of all drugs]”.
Islington Now has discovered that the Turnmills superclub in Farringdon is doing nothing to protect clubbers from the new drug. Kevin, a Turnmills employee who refused to tell us his full name, said: “Who knows if anyone takes it in here? If it’s legal who cares? I’m from New Zealand and it’s a huge problem over there. But, I’ve taken it and I think it’s absolutely rubbish – it does nothing.”
This drug is so new to Britain that most drug charities are unaware of it, but Hope Uk said: “If the drug is similar to ecstasy then it should be made illegal at least until tests are carried out, prevention is better than cure”.
Phil Willis MP the Chair of the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee said the problem lies with how drugs are classified. “Most people out on the street believe that drugs are classified on the basis of the harm they cause, but they aren't they are classified by the criminality they cause” he said.
There has been no evidence that BZP has causes an increase in crime, as it does not lead to violence or antisocial behaviour. Neither is it very addictive or prohibitively expensive so the users does not have to commit crime to fund their habit.
Willis is campaigning for a change to the drug classification system so that drugs can be classified separately by the health damage they cause and the societal problems they cause.
“BZP gives the government the perfect chance to play new drugs with a straight bat. They should look into the harm they cause and give drug users proper information about these drugs. It is then up to the criminal justice system to decide how illegal the drug should be based on criminality.”
Until that happens clubbers like Jonny will continue to flock to BZP drawn by its legal status. Jonny said: “When my mates told me about a new legal drug that got you high and was fully legal I was doubtful, but then I thought if it's legal then it's got to be safe, hasn’t it?”