Alcohol Adepressantdrug.

Antioxidants Substancethatpreventsyourcellsbeingdestroyedin yourbody.

Depressant Adrugthatslowsdownyournervoussystemand otherfunctionsofyourbody.

Drug Anysubstancethatinterfereswithhowyourbodyworks.

Stimulant Adrugthatspeedsupyournervoussystemandother functionsofyourbody.

PartyPillsarequitenewtoIrelandbuthavegainedpopularityveryfastfordifferentreasons.Dubbed“legalhighs”or“herbalhighs”,theyaresoldindifferentshopsoronlineunderimaginativenames.

Aswithalldrugs(andthisiswhattheyare),notusingthematallisthesafestoptionbutifyouarethinkingabouttakingPartyPills,knowthescorebeforeyoumakeyourchoice.

Glossary:

LegalHighs:PartyPills

What’sinthem? What’sinthem?

Thenthereare“real”herbalpills,whichmostlycontainamixofdifferentstimulantplants,suchaskolanut,guarana,ginseng,gingko,nutmeg,Hawaiianbabywoodroseandsoon.Sometimesotherlegalstimulantssuchascaffeineortaurine(thestuffinmanyenergydrinks)areaddedtothemix.Althoughyoucanfindtheseherbsinalotofotherthings,thedosageandthecombinationofallingredientsmakesthemprettystrongstuff.

Whoevermakesthepillshastoprintalistofingredientsonthewrapping,sotakethetimetoreaditifyouaregoingtobuy!

Knowwhat’sinthembeforeyouputthemintoyourbody!

TherearetwobroadertypesofPartyPills;someofthemactuallycontainherbs,othersaremarketedas“herbal”butreallyaren’t.

Interestinglymostofthemain“legalhighs”arenottheoneswithactualherbsinthem.ThemainingredientinmanypartypillsisasubstancecalledBenzylpiperazine(bzp).There’snothingherbalor“natural”aboutthat,it’sachemicalanditwasoriginallydevelopedtogetridofwormsinanimals.BZPactsasastimulantwhichmeansthatitspeedsupyournervoussystemandgivesyouabuzz.

TFMPP(3-Trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine)issimilartoBZPinsomewaysanditisthecombinationofthetwochemicalsthatgivesthedesiredeffecttothepill.Almostallproductssoldbythebigcompaniesincolorfulwrappingcontainthesechemicals.

Whatdotheydo?

Partypillsaredesignedtogiveyouaboostofenergyandtomakeyouenjoypartyingandthemusicmore.Thisisachievedbytriggeringcertainfunctionsinyourbrainandnervoussystemtoproducethestuffinyourbodythatmakesyoufeeljustthat.TheeffectsofBZParereportedtobesimilartoamphetamines(speed),onlyweaker.InabloodtestyoumighteventestpositiveforamphetaminesaftertakingBZP.

ManyBZPbasedpillshavestimulatingherbsaddedtothem.Stimulantsspeedupyournervoussystemandotherbodyfunctions.

It’sveryimportantthatyouknowabouttheherbsyou’retakingassomepeoplehaveanintolerancetothemwhichmightbedangerous.

HowcomeIcanbuythemeasilyin

shopsandonline?

Atthemoment(2008)BZPislegalinIrelandandcanthereforebesoldinshopsoronline.

ManyothercountrieslikeDenmark,theUSA,Australia,Swedenetc.havealreadymadethedrugillegal,andthelawmaychangeinIreland.KeepaneyeonthelegalstatusofBZP,justtoavoidtrouble!

Intermsofherbalpills,it’sadifferentstory.Manyherbsusedforpartypillshavebeenaroundforagoodwhileandsomeareusedforenergydrinksorineverydayfoodanddrink.Ifyoudonotknowacertainherbinthepill,findoutaboutitbeforetakingit.

Justbecausesomethingisherbaldoesn’tmeanit’snotstrong.Andalldrugsaredangerous,evenwhentheyarelegal.Justlookatalcohol,forexample!

Everydrughassideeffects.ThereisadifferenceagainbetweenBZPbasedpartypillsandnon-BZPbasedproducts.

BZPisknowntohaveamultitudeofsideeffects,rangingfromalightheadachetosevereheartproblems.Everypersonmightexperiencesideeffectsquitedifferently.Sodon’tthinkyou’llbeOKtakingsomething,justbecauseyourmatesdidnothaveanythingbadhappentothem.

AverycommonsideeffecttoBZPisthatyoumightgetthefeelingofwantingtopeeallthetime.Whenyoufinallymakeittothetoilet,allyoucansqueezeoutmightbeafewdrops.Otherpeoplehavehadaveryembarrassingproblem:theywetthemselves.Onewayorother–thenightcanbewellruinedbecauseofyourtoiletrelateddifficultiesinanyway.

Dotheyhavesideeffects?

No.ApartfromthefactthatsomeareBZPbasedandsomearenot,therearemanyvariations.Thepurposeofpartypillsistomimiceffectsofillegaldrugssuchasecstasy,amphetamines,LSDandsoon.

DifferentquantitiesofBZP,TFMPPand/orherbsaremixedtogethertogetthedesiredeffect.Again,itisimportanttoreadthelabels,asthedosageofcertainingredientsvarieshugely.Therearepillswitharound30mgofBZPandnoTFMPP,otherscontain200mgofBZPand100mgofTFMPPwhichmakestheeffecthugelydifferent!Alsocheckwhatelseisthrowninthemixintermsofherbsoradditionalstimulantssuchascaffeineortaurine.

Readthelabel!!Itonlytakesaminuteandyou’reworthit.

Isonepartypillliketheother?Dotheyhavesideeffects?

Manypills,bothherbalandBZPbased,willdehydrateyou,soitisveryimportanttodrinkplentyofwaterduringthenight.Alcoholisabigno-nowhenyouhavetakenpartypills!Onepintperhouristherecommendedamountanddrinkingtoomuchcanbeasdangerousasdrinkingtoolittle.Bestistosticktothatamountoffluid,justtobeonthesafeside.

Inanycaseyouwillmostlikelyexperienceaprettybadhangoverthedayafterandthereisnotawholelotthatyoucandoaboutthat.Sojustbepreparedtosuffer…

Whiletakingpartypillspeoplehaveexperiencednegative effectsontheirmentalhealth.Besttostayawayfrom themaltogetherifmentalhealthisanissueforyou.

Alwaysdrinkenoughwaterwhenyouaretakingparty pills.Onepintperhouristheidealamount.

Beawarethatanydrugcanimpairyourjudgement. Sobeextracarefulwhenmakingcertaindecisions, suchasnegotiatingsexoracceptingalifthome.

Partypillscandecreaseyourappetite.Itisimportantthat youeatbeforetakingthemandalsothenextday,especially fruitandveg.Somecompaniesofferrecoverypillswith vitaminsandanti-oxidantsbuthealthyfoodornormal vitaminpillswillprobablyjustdothesame.

Buythepillsinashopwherethestaffiswillingtogive youinformationonthestuffforsaleratherthanbuying online.Ifyougettheimpressionthattheydon’thaveaclue, gosomewhereelseand/orhaveachatwithadrugsworker inyourarea.Theyareusuallyquiteusefulforgettingthe informationyouneed.

Stayonthesafeside…

WhatcanIdotobeassafeaspossible?

Nouseatallisalwaysthebestoptiontostaysafebutifyoudecidetotakepartypills,hereareafewgoldenrulestofollowtostayonthesafeside:

DoNOTmixpartypillswithotherdrugs,legalorillegal!

DoNOTdrinkalcoholwhenyoutakepartypills! Itcandamageyourliver!

Alwaysreadthelabelandthelistofingredients,sothat youknowwhatyouaretakingandhowstrongitis.

DoNOTexceedthemaximumdosageonthelabel! It’sthereforareason.

PartyPillstakeawhiletowork.DoNOTtakemore,just becauseyouthinkthattheydon’twork.Theeffectcomes withadelayandyoumighthavetakenfartoomuchbythe timetheeffectskickin.

DoNOTtakepartypillsifyouhaveaheartconditionor otherhealthproblemssuchasanorexiaorliverdamage. TalktoaGPfirst!

BELONG TO YOUTH PROJECTSUPPORTING LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER YOUTH

Belong To Youth Project,105 Capel Street, Dublin 1T: 01 8734184 E: drugsoutreach@belongto.org W:www.belongto.org

Designed by C

reatio

np

od

maurice@

creationpo

d.ie 086 8311477