EU mulls ban on drug sold in Irish ‘head shops’

THE EU wants to ban BZP, the synthetic drug that is up to 20 times more powerful than speed and associated with deaths worldwide.

The club drug has been available for sale in Ireland in a number of so called “head shops”. Last week a young woman was admitted to hospital in Dublin suffering from its effects.

It has been banned in the US for the past five years but so far despite calls on the government to outlaw its sale and use in Ireland, it is still legally available, though only to those over 18.

However, the Department of Health here confirmed in February this year that its drug research board will raise will issue of legal-highs at EU level.

Now the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction has reported the use of BZP could lead to medical problems, even if its long-term effects are still not known.

As a result European Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini announced yesterday he will ask the member states to introduce control measures and criminal sanctions for the sale and use of 1-benzylpiperazine, or BZP.

Ireland and 12 other EU member states have found BZP in circulation in powder, capsule or tablet form. It acts on the central nervous system, raising blood pressure, creating hyperactivity and can lead to seizures and convulsions.

Users have reported a range of adverse reactions such as vomiting, headache, palpitations, poor appetite, stomach pains and nausea, anxiety, insomnia, strange thoughts, mood swings, confusion, irritability and tremors. BZP has been found in post mortem samples but the extent to which it was responsible for the deaths is not known.