Call for action as shop sells alternative to ecstasy, coke

A CLASS A drug which is banned in the US is being sold legally in shops in Dublin, as an alternative to ecstasy and cocaine.

Pills containing BZP, a synthetic compound which mimics the effects of MDMA, are available for €12 from the ‘Head Shop’ in Dublin’s Temple Bar area.

The same shop sold Magic Mushrooms before they were banned last year.

The pills are far more potent than herbal ecstasy, which has been available in Ireland for some time.

Marketed as ‘Jax’ and ‘Pep’ pills, the tablets are sold in pairs and have become increasingly popular with young people over the summer.

Buyers need to be 18 or over.

The US Department of Justice says BZP, a common name for the synthetic drug N-benzylpiperazine, is approximately 10 to 20 times more potent than amphetamine or ‘speed’.

Clinical trials have shown that the drug can cause convulsions in normally healthy adults.

BZP is banned in Australia, with the exception of the state of Victoria, where it will be outlawed next month. It is also banned in Canada.

Fine Gael Health spokesman Dr Liam Twomey has called on the Government to reclassify BZP, making it illegal to buy or sell.

“Given the nature of this drug and its status in other countries, I think the health minister should look at this matter immediately and reclassify it,” he said.

Máiréad Lyons, director of the National Advisory Committee on Drugs, said the EU drugs agency has identified BZP as a chemical used in the development of new synthetic drugs.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said the legal status of BZP is under review.

“BZP is not a scheduled substance under the misuse of drugs act 1997,” he said. “However the legality of all substances is kept under review, in particular if there is evidence that the drug is being misused or is causing harm to people.”