Benzylpiperazine (PEP) Pills Are Dangerous And Illegal, UK

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Medical Malpractice / Litigation
Article Date: 28 Mar 2007 - 9:00 PDT

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The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has warned today that selling BZP pills, containing benzylpiperazine, is illegal and vendors may face prosecution.

Producers and sellers frequently claim that BZP is a "natural" product, describing it as a "pepper extract" or "legal or herbal high". However, the drug is entirely synthetic, not occurring naturally in any plants.

BZP can result in agitation, vomiting, abdominal pain, seizures, abnormal heart rhythms, colic, diarrhoea, allergic reactions and fever. In rare cases, users may suffer from serotonin syndrome, which can result in death.

Experimental studies demonstrate that the abuse, dependence potential, pharmacology, and toxicology of BZP are similar to those of amphetamine.

Danny Lee-Frost, Head of Operations at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said:
"Producers and sellers must now stop marketing all products containing BENZYLPIPERAZINE and "PIPERAZINE BLEND" in the UK with immediate effect and must cancel all advertising and promotion including internet promotion and sales. People should not take these pills as there are considerable health risks." There are piperazine containing medicines for human use which must be sold in pharmacies. Any other pills containing piperazine or its salts or derivatives would be classified as unlicensed as there are no safeguards in relation to the safety, quality or efficacy of the pills.

-- Benzylpiperazine is marketed under various names depending on the country. These include: BZP, Pep, Pep Love, Pep Twisted, Pep Stoned, A2, Legal E/ Legal X Frenzy, Nemesis, ESP, Cosmic Kelly, Charlie, The Good Stuff, Exodus, Frenzy, Rapture, Charge, Blast and Euphoria.

-- BZP pills can come in many shapes or forms. The pills are sometimes encountered as a red, blue, pink, white, off-white, purple, orange, tan, and mottled orange-brown pills. These tablets can bear imprints such as a housefly, crown, heart, butterfly, smiley face or bull's head logo, and are often sold as "ecstasy". BZP has also been found in powder or liquid form packaged in small convenient sizes sold on the Internet.

-- The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the government agency responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work, and are acceptably safe. No product is risk-free. Underpinning all our work lie robust and fact-based judgements to ensure that the benefits to patients and the public justify the risks. We keep watch over medicines and devices, and take any necessary action to protect the public promptly if there is a problem.

-- If an individual is convicted of offences under the Medicines Act 1968, they can be sentenced to a maximum of two years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. Where appropriate the MHRA will use the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to determine whether or not benefits were accrued through criminal activity and will recoup illicit earnings if the individual is found guilty.

http://www.mhra.gov.uk