Ecstasy up as meth down

An increase in the use of ecstasy may be due to the outlawing of the party pill drug BZP and the bad reputation of P, according to the latest findings of the illicit drugs monitoring work done by Massey University researchers.

The latest findings of the Illicit Drugs Monitoring System, conducted among frequent drug users each year, show a levelling out of methamphetamine (P) use and increases in ecstasy and cocaine use.

Lead researcher Dr Chris Wilkins from the University's Centre for Social and Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation says there has been a steady increase in ecstasy use since 2001. Though few of the frequent drug users interviewed had experience of cocaine there were signs it was becoming more readily available and of greater purity.

Dr Wilkins warned that people using ecstasy needed to be aware of its risks, including the risk that they may not be taking pure ecstasy but a mixture of methamphetamine, ketamine and BZP.

"The ban on BZP may encouraging more people to use ecstasy and this is an issue which we intend to investigate in detail over the next six weeks."

The study's findings illustrate the effectiveness of prohibiting a previously legal substance - in this case BZP - by changing the way it is supplied and making it more difficult and expensive to get.