Chemical found in legal high substances faces ban

Minister of state with responsibility for the national drugs strategy John Curran said Benzylpiperazine, or BZP, was likely to be made illegal by the Department of Health and Children for sale or use.

The move comes after 22 “head shops” were raided by gardaí last week as part of an ongoing investigation into so-called "legal highs".

Last week, the Oireachtas heard claims from Senator Fidelma Healy Eames that two young people were receiving psychiatric treatment in Galway after taking a party pill that contained BZP. She said emergency legislation was needed to outlaw the drug, which has effects like those of Ecstasy and amphetamines.

Mr Curran told the Irish Examiner: “I am aware that the Department of Health and Children, who has responsibility for the Misuse of Drugs Acts, keeps the list of illegal drugs under review and they are currently moving to make BZP illegal.”

Earlier this year, the EU said BZP should be made a controlled substance.

While Mr Curran expressed concerns over the substances sold by “head shops”, the Government has also come under fire after two reports last week indicated that Ireland had the fourth-highest rate of drug-related deaths in Europe.

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction placed Ireland fourth for the number of deaths per one million of population, but Mr Curran said this was “misleading”.

He said: “This is a very misleading statistic as only six countries have prepared comprehensive indices that could be compared with that produced for Ireland. For example, Spain bases its figures on six cities only and, even at that, has a less comprehensive methodology in computing the totals.”

However, he admitted some parts of the country were not adequately resourced in terms of places on methadone treatment programmes.

“There has been a significant increase in treatment places under the existing strategy but I agree that pockets remain where coverage is not fully adequate,” he said, adding there were efforts to address this “as soon as possible”.

Source: Noel Baker, The Irish Examiner, 10/11/2008