How Party Pills Were Developed

Party pills or designer drugs as they are sometimes called have become increasingly common fixtures in the party landscape for a number of years now. There have been a number of reports in the media detailing the use of these substances, a few of them unfortunately bring quite negative. In fact there have been quite a few reports that point to the dangers of these party pills, with detractors sating that they are not as safe as their manufacturers make them out to be. This stands in clear contrast to the claims of party pill manufacturers who have promoted them as safer alternatives to illegal drugs. For this reason, party pills have enjoyed a huge customer base in people who frequent bars, clubs, raves, and other entertainment and leisure venues.

Most party pills contain varying amounts of substances such as benzylpiperazine or BZP–which was originally developed in 1944 as an agricultural pesticide–and 3-Trifluoromethylphenlpiperazine Monohydrocholoride or TFMPP. Both substances have an effect remarkably similar to ecstasy and amphetamines, which are of course both illegal. Such drugs work by affecting the chemistry of the brain through the activation of the 5-HT serotonin system. This causes the brain to release dopamine, which is essentially a neurotransmitter. The result for the party pill user is a sensation that is quite similar to that experienced when using ecstasy and amphetamines.

A number of negative effects have been attributed to the use of party pills, among them feelings of anxiety, dehydration, and depression. In some users, overeating has also been observed.

One of the earliest and most prominent reports on party pills dealt with a man from New Zealand named Matt Bowden, who managed to re-synthesised BZP in 2000. Bowden’s efforts where driven by a desire to rid himself of his addiction to methamphetamine. It took only 2 years before a few companies in the country began to market BZP and Bowden found himself establishing a number of companies, all of which promoted party pills as a safe and legal alternative to drugs such as ecstasy and amphetamine.

This development came in the wake of Bowden’s own efforts have the government of New Zealand regulate these new drugs, which it did with the introduction of the Class D category, which effectively covered drugs that were currently undergoing research such as party pills.

While these party pills remain legal in many parts of the world, their sale is generally restricted to those who are over 18 years old. And while they are not yet illegal in the UK among other countries, they have already been banned in the United States, Japan, Denmark, Sweden and Australia.