Party pills trip was a nightmare

[Thirdedge]

When a family member told her party pills would help to get more gardening done, Ketrina never expected the horrific addiction that would result.

Ketrina, who did not want her surname published, slept just two nights per week. She would take a spotlight outside and garden for two or three days and nights without a break. Chemicals sweating from her body caused bubbling sores on her arms and legs, which she said felt like insects crawling on her skin.

During her year-long addiction Ketrina took up to six 300mg pills per day to keep going. She said they often had varying degrees of BZP because her reaction was always different.

"Sometimes I could sleep on it; it was different every time. Sometimes I'd have really bad hallucinations."

The itchiness and rashes started soon after she took the first pills, she said.

Now in her last few weeks of a three-month battle to fight her addiction at St Marks Alcohol and Drugs clinic in Blenheim, Ketrina scoffs at the notion that party pills are not addictive. She had been involved with drugs from a young age and used the pills as a "safe" alternative to an ongoing alcohol problem, she said.

"First of all I was staying up all night and then two nights on 600mg. Over the year I had to take at least six (pills) to get to the next day."

She said the planned ban of party pills was "fantastic".

"It's all chemicals. You might as well get some plant fertiliser and drink that. I'm glad they're going to be banned because they're toxic. Young people getting their hands on them is so dangerous."

The family member who introduced her to party pills had also been at St Marks to recover from a party pills addiction, she said.

Centre manager Lois Millar said Ketrina was the third party pill addict to be treated at the centre. With the pills being relatively new on the market, she said addiction cases were only just starting to come through.

But Social Tonics Assoc-iation of New Zealand (Stanz) chairman Matt Bowden said party pills did not contain the chemicals which caused addiction and out of the 400,000 users in New Zealand only a tiny number of people became addicted to them. He said this was caused by an already addictive personality rather than the chemicals in the pills themselves.

Ketrina has a history of substance addiction, depression and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, but said the side effects of her party pill addiction were not caused by her alcohol addiction.

"I took three months off alcohol and just did party pills and still had the same reactions," she said.

Surviving off just one small meal a day, Ketrina felt nauseous every time she took a pill but could not miss a dose for fear of slipping into depression.

"My body did not know if it was coming or going. If I did not take them every day I would be so depressed. I'd be in bed all day feeling sorry for myself. I had to have them to stay awake. I had to take them to feel normal."

When she did sleep, Ketrina would be out for up to 20 hours and during this time her body would sweat out foul-smelling chemicals which she said resulted in the sores.

"I would get a scalpel and try to dig them out; some went as deep as the muscle," she said of the wounds, which have caused scars she will carry for life.

"I was just in my own fan-tasy world all the time."

Ketrina said she constantly "sweated like a fountain" and she felt as if there were insects crawling on her skin and she would scratch at the itch until she bled.

She was described by others as "manic" when she went into rehab. Ketrina still suffers daily headaches, muscle spasms and anxiety problems.

Ketrina's pill supplier, who no longer does business in Blenheim, sold her pills in bulk at half price, delivered them to her house and texted her constantly urging her to buy more.

"I love getting a bargain, so of course I'd buy more," she said.

"I'd spend $120 at a time and he'd give me $240 worth of pills. He was like a drug pusher, I felt like I was breaking the law every time I left," she said.

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/marlbor...6791a6563.html

[radiometer]

He was like a drug pusher, I felt like I was breaking the law every time I left," she said.

Correction - he was a drug pusher. And yes, she was indeed breaking the law - the law of common sense. Was there some sinister force at work which prevented her from typing a few words into google to find out what she was taking and what might be an appropriate amount?

[Nacumen]

This looks like an article that would come out of the portfolio of a journalist looking for a position as a propagandist. For what it's worth - I really find it hard to believe any of this. It's just too extreme.

But perhaps that's why it was reported on.

Is truth really stranger than fiction? That's what I'm asking myself right now. In this case, I'm thinking that it isn't.

[Bajeda]

I don't even take medications from my doctor without researching them first. Its not that I don't trust the doctor (not entirely that is), but that I need to be fully informed to be able to trust myself to handle whatever substances I am given responsibly.

Why are people so reluctant to question or investigate? Just, "here take these pills", "ok!!". Then, "man these pills are great! I think i'm just gonna keep taking them!"

I mean honestly.

[tayo]

People should be going to the doctors with research in mind and ready to discuss possible treatments... we have the internet! How many doctors will spend more than 10 minutes while not in the appointment researching your specific case? Few.

[Jazk]

I take BZP as a recretional drug all the time. I have done some research into and its realistically about as harmful as having 4 coffee's p/day.

Come on Party Pills - my favourites are Funk Pills

Reputation Comments on this post:

	Do not incriminate yourself. Read the rules.
	Spam

[Abrad]

I have done some research into and its realistically about as harmful as having 4 coffee's p/day.

This statement is meaningless without evidence to back it up.
Please post details of this research.

[klaatu]

FWIW (For What It's Worth - translation provided by Helpful Internet Angels Inc) I have a friend who heard BZP was being banned in the UK so he acquired a healthy supply of them.

Archaeologists uncovered his patchy field report. Pieced together it stated that BZP had "interesting" effects but made him feel soooooooo very sick that he chose not to repeat the experience.

Klaatu

[Joe Duffy]

Originally Posted by Jazk

I take BZP as a recretional drug all the time.

I thought BZP (Benzylpiperazine) and TFMPP (Trifluromethylphenylpiperazine) were both already illegal substances in New Zealand.

[Jazk]

Not at all... the legal status of BZP is as follows

England

Its illeagal to sell BZP within the UK without a Pharmaceutical license although it is legal to import for personal use. This is based on recommendations from the MRHA.

New Zealand

BZP is still legal and will continue to be so until the government and the NZ population decide otherwise.

The associate health minister "Jim Anderton" recently announced he would like to introduce legislation to make BZP a C class drug and to conduct an overall review of the "mis-use of drugs act." To review the entire New Zealand Mis-use of Drugs policy is a mammoth political task and as such is likely to take at least 6-12 months before its even introduced to the parlimentary house. Jim's proposed legislation must first be researched, drafted, and then it must go through 3 steps before its made law:

1. General Parlimentary vote
2. select commitee hearing (public representitive vote)
3. A final parlimentary vote.

Also there is an election looming within the next 12 months and the chances of Jim getting back into parliment are definatly not garanteed combined with the potential change of government majority, there is every chance that the legislation will get lost in the political ether.

As I said I have had by in large good experiences while taking BZP and the only times i didn't were as a result of my own foolish actions: not following the instructions on the packet.

Originally Posted by Joe Duffy

I thought BZP (Benzylpiperazine) and TFMPP (Trifluromethylphenylpiperazine) were both already illegal substances in New Zealand.

Reputation Comments on this post:

good post. maintained thread continuity and was factually informative.

[Cakes]

Originally Posted by klaatu

translation provided by Helpful Internet Angels Inc

link?

out of the portfolio of a journalist

yes. and here is mine:


1. she gardened for 2 or 3 days straight? what is wrong with that?

2. she felt like she had bugs crawling on her? well cover your ears kiddies. got em covered? uh, we DO have bugs crawling all over us. and sometimes people catch scabies which will burrow in your skin; SWIThe primary school teacher catches every flu and bug that the kids catch and she says it isn't funny that you can feel scabies move under the skin and that they itch like crazy. Gardening for hours on end, not to mention days, can also make you itch from chapped and dirty skin. it can get VERY bad for me. not to mention the bug bites you will get if you are out at night and especially dusk and dawn.

3. poisons leached out of her? idk about everyone, but SWAN says the poisons she feels leach out of her (when they do at all) is poisons that were aquired from non-drug sources. mostly stress and contact with mean people. but if the poisons were aquired from bad dope, then we think this is an occasion for better dope, not a throwing out of the baby with the bathwater. same for the comedown and depression and badness that comes when people think it is wrong to garden for days on end; we could use some better dope.

4. she spent how much? $130? and that was per month? it is standard for the chronically ill or the elderly to drop twice that much per day.

I'd spend $120 at a time and he'd give me $240 worth of pills. He was like a drug pusher..

it sounds like the drug pushers are being a good influence on the pharm cartel.