Everything about Benzylpiperazine totally explained
Benzylpiperazine (with trade names such as "A2", "Frenzy" and "Nemesis", commonly referred to as
BZP) is a
recreational drug with
euphoric,
stimulant properties. Its dopamine and serotonin agonist
mechanism of action is believed to be similar to
MDMA and the effects produced by BZP are comparable to those produced by
amphetamine. Adverse effects have been reported following its use including
psychosis,
renal toxicity, and
seizures. It doesn't appear to be very addictive and no deaths have been reported following a sole ingestion of BZP, although there have been at least two deaths from the combination of BZP and MDMA. Its sale is banned in a few countries, including the
United States,
Australia,
New Zealand and in parts of
Europe. However, its
legal status is currently less restrictive in some other countries such as
Ireland and
Canada, although investigations and regulations are pending under
European Union laws.
History
Development history
It is often claimed that BZP was originally synthesized as a potential
antihelminthic (anti-parasitic) agent for use in farm animals. However, there are some references to BZP in medical literature that predate interest in
piperazines as anthelmintics. Even so, the majority of the early work with the piperazines were investigations into their potential use as anthelmintics with the earliest
clinical trials in the literature relating to piperazine being articles in the
British Medical Journal in the 1950s. It was discovered that BZP had
side effects and was largely abandoned as a worm treatment. It next appears in the literature in the 1970s when it was investigated as a potential
antidepressant medication, but rejected when research reported that BZP had amphetamine-like effects and was liable to abuse. The study suggested that BZP “should be placed under statutory control similar to those regulating the use of amphetamine.”
Recreational history
In the
early 1990s, the United States
Drug Enforcement Administration noted the drug was being used recreationally in
California. It also reported that BZP was being used as an
adulterant in
illicit drugs. Not long after, there was an explosion in the drug's use worldwide — a situation which was soon followed by legislative control in many countries. Since 1999, benzylpiperazine use grew sharply in New Zealand, where there was initially a complete lack of regulation. The New Zealand government attempted to ban the product as of December 18, 2007, but the necessary second reading of the bill didn't happen in time for the law to be passed. It was so widely used that an estimated 5 million pills were sold in New Zealand in 2007.
Piperazine based stimulants began to appear in Europe in 2000 but remained virtually unavailable in the rest of the world until recently. In early 2006, pills containing the active ingredients BZP and
TFMPP first began to appear in the city of
Vancouver, Canada, where they were used by late night party-goers as a supposedly safer alternative to the illicit street drugs available there. In the United States, it's still used as an adulterant in ecstasy mimic tablets.
Production and distribution
BZP is a piperazine derivative which comes as either the hydrochloride salt or a
free base. The hydrochloride salt is a white solid while the base form is a slightly yellowish-green liquid. BZP base is corrosive and causes burns.
In countries where its purchase is legal, BZP products are often produced in small specialist laboratories. The raw materials can be purchased from various chemical supply agencies and formed into tablets or capsules using relatively cheap production techniques. The resulting product can be marketed at extremely high
markup, so end-user prices can be as high as 300 times the bulk cost of raw ingredients.
BZP is often marketed ostensibly as a "dietary supplement" to avoid meeting stricter laws that apply to medicines and drugs, despite the fact that BZP has no dietary value. As of late 2005, the Misuse of Drugs Act ensured it can no longer be classified or marketed as a
dietary supplement in New Zealand.
Pharmacodynamics
BZP has been shown to have a mixed mechanism of action, acting on the
serotonergic and
dopaminergic receptor systems in a similar fashion to
MDMA. BZP has amphetamine-like actions on the
serotonin reuptake transporter, which increase serotonin concentrations in the
extracellular fluids surrounding the
cell and thereby increasing activation of the surrounding serotonin receptors. BZP has a lower potency effect on the
noradrenaline reuptake transporter and the
dopamine reuptake transporter.
BZP also acts as a non-selective
serotonin receptor agonist on a wide variety of serotonin receptors; with one study finding that former amphetamine addicts were unable to distinguish between
dextroamphetamine and BZP administered intravenously. Users report alertness, euphoria and a general feeling of well being. The perception of certain sensations such as taste, colour or music may be subjectively enhanced. The average duration is longer than that of dextroamphetamine, typically lasting 4-6 hours with reports as long as 8 hours depending on the dose. A recent study has shown that mixtures of BZP with other piperazine drugs such as
TFMPP share certain
pharmacodynamic traits with
MDMA..
Subjective effects
Upon ingestion of between 50 mg and 200 mg of BZP, the user may experience any or all of the following:
Coming up:
Coming down:
Mild headache
Nausea
Hangover-like symptoms (common with high doses)
Fatigue
Increased hunger (and sometimes thirst)
Insomnia
Confusion
Loss of appetite
Tolerance
Research into BZP's tolerance is sparse. Anecdotal evidence from online sources claim tolerance to the central action of BZP will develop quickly. The more severe toxic effects include psychosis, renal toxicity,
That the term “seizures” was used “to refer to anything from a small twitch to a grand seizure” and that this was “too broad”. Further, there was a failure in some studies to explain if the seizures were due to withdrawal effects.
That the MRINZ study was designed to look at driving performance “under an intoxicating dose of BZP with or without alcohol” rather than at the side effects of BZP and that the results should be used to inform the study’s primary aim.
That the side effects in the MRINZ study were “were most likely heightened as participants endured at least six hours of fasting and the substance was taken when it isn't normally taken”. The Committee noted this might explain the discrepancy between the subjects’ experience in the study and their prior experience with BZP.
That one Committee member expressed the view that the Committee may have placed “too much emphasis” on the MRINZ study, in part because the aborting of the trial “may have created an emotional overtone that influenced the Committee’s decision”.
Attributed deaths
According to party pill manufacturer Matt Bowden, over 20 million pills containing BZP have been consumed in New Zealand with no available record attributing deaths or lasting injuries to a single ingestion of BZP. Additionally, a retrospective study carried out at an Auckland emergency department found that BZP presentations only made a minor contribution to their overdose database with most cases not producing any significant toxicity.
After many millions of doses consumed worldwide, two deaths have been officially recorded in correlation with the use of BZP, although no causual relationship has been proven. In the first case in Zurich in 2001 a 23-year-old took two BZP tablets as well as ecstasy (MDMA) and drank more than 10 litres of water in a 15-hour period, subsequently dying of cerebral edema due to hyponatremia resulting from water intoxication. it's likely that the additional hyponatremic effects from the BZP may have increased the hyponatremic effects from the MDMA, to the point that death resulted.
Addictive effects
One in every 45 (2.2%) last-year users of BZP in New Zealand is classed as dependent upon it, although 97.9% of users said that "it wouldn't be difficult to stop using legal party pills", and 45.2% of people who reported using both BZP and illegal drugs such as methamphetamine reported that they used BZP so that they didn't have to use methamphetamine, which was perceived as more harmful.
Still, most of the people who use BZP, even though they say it's quite easy to stop, don't want to, and continue to use the drug, feeling that it helps them to reach higher levels of mood, sociability, and energy.
Legal issues
The drug was classified as a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States in 2002, when in fact BZP is ten times less potent than dexamphetamine. The DEA subsequently admitted this mistake, but nevertheless retained the Schedule 1 classification. BZP is banned in all Australian states. Victoria, the last state in which it was legal, changed its classification on September 1 2006. This is the date BZP and piperazine analogs become illegal in the federal schedules which are now enacted by all Australian states and territories. BZP is also a banned substance in Japan, along with TFMPP. Both Australia and Japan admit that their scheduling decisions were made primarily in response to the Schedule 1 classification given to BZP in the USA, although some instances of BZP use had been reported by law enforcement authorities in both countries. BZP is also banned in Greece, Italy, Malta, Denmark and Sweden. and consequently anyone manufacturing and supplying it legally must hold the relevant licenses to do so. BZP isn't a salt of piperazine, but mislabelling of BZP products as containing "piperazine blend" have resulted in some prosecutions of suppliers in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, though to this date there hasn't been a successful prosecution in the UK for the sale of BZP, so its legal status remains uncertain. Although sale is regulated, possession of BZP is still legal.
For now, BZP and other analogous piperazines are legal and uncontrolled in many countries such as Canada and Ireland. They are not controlled under any UN convention, so the compounds themselves are legal throughout most of the world, although in most countries their use is restricted to pharmaceutical manufacturing and recreational use is unknown.
Benzylpiperazine is, however, to be the subject of a European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) risk assessment, the results of which will determine what, if any, control will placed on BZP throughout the European Union. The risk assessment comes about as the result of a joint Europol – EMCDDA report which concluded that BZP needs to be looked at in more detail. The results were published in June 2007. The report concluded that the use of BZP can lead to medical problems even if the long effects are still unknown. Taking this concession as a basis, the European Commission has decided to ask the Council to place BZP under control of the UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. On 4 March 2008, BZP was placed under control in the EU.
Based on the recommendation of the EACD, the New Zealand government has passed legislation which placed BZP, along with the other piperazine derivatives TFMPP, mCPP, pFPP, MeOPP and MBZP, into Class C of the New Zealand Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. A ban was intended to come into effect in New Zealand on December 18th 2007, but the law change didn't go through until the following year, and the sale of BZP and the other listed piperazines became illegal in New Zealand as of 1st of April 2008. An amnesty for possession and usage of these drugs will remain until October 2008, at which point that'll become completely illegal.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Benzylpiperazine'.
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