New drugs to beat pill ban

A new generation of party pills much stronger than those soon to be banned is being developed to get around the new law.

And the Government's looming party-pill ban has sparked a frenzy of sales, with users stockpiling their stashes and stores selling out within minutes of the new law being passed.

The change classifies the active ingredients in party pills, which include BZP, TFMPP and four similar substances, as class C drugs - the same as cannabis.

Though shops will be banned from selling pills after April 1, an amnesty on personal consumption runs for six months.

Wellington pill shop Quick-E Mart sold out of popular brands in a rush after Thursday's parliamentary vote.

Owner Rustin Nahulandran said he planned to replace the BZP-based pills with the new versions.

He estimated that up to 15 per cent of his customers bought party pills and predicted that the new versions, which would sell for about $20, would be popular.

Meanwhile, supplier Wize Marketing is advertising "new and exciting" pills, not based on BZP, which it says have a 100 per cent "satisfaction guarantee".

The Christchurch company's website says some of its new products are much stronger formula than BZP-based products.

Wize Marketing head Geoff Percy said the company planned to introduce 22new varieties, which it had imported, on April 1.

"I can see there's money to be made, I'm not going to hide that."

He believed the pills, which contained caffeine, guarana and "other different chemical ingredients", were safe and welcomed testing of the new tablets.

Party pill retailer Cosmic Corner is also marketing products as "BZP and TFMPP free", but did not return calls last night.