Jacqui Dean
National Party MP

2 May 2006

Party pill education shouldn’t be left to students

Students should not be put in the position of acting as the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff when it comes to party pills, says National MP Jacqui Dean.

She is commenting on a project at Nelson College for Girls to create a pocket-sized card explaining the possible side effects of party pills.

“The fact that children 18 and younger are concerned about the dangers of party pills should be ringing alarm bells with Associate Minister of Health Jim Anderton,”says Mrs Dean.

“I support any education campaign about the dangers of party pills, but it shouldn’t get to the stage where school kids have to do it.

“There is a growing body of evidence - both anecdotal and science-based - that pills containing BZP and sold as party pills are causing serious side effects in people who take them, particularly when taken with alcohol.

“These party pills are bullets to the brain, and teenagers should not have to be doing the job of educating people.

“Young people are harming themselves. This dangerous drug culture must be shut down.”

Mrs Dean’s 7,500-strong petition calling for further research and much tighter controls on the advertising and sale of party pills is with Parliament’s health select committee.

ENDS

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