Users of party pills containing benzylpiperazine have been stocking up on the cut-price tablets - some spending up to $500 - before the introduction of today's new law which makes them illegal.
Some Dunedin people bought up to 10 times the legal limit of cut-price party pills before they became illegal at midnight last night, one store owner says.
From today, pills containing benzylpiperazine (BZP) are outlawed after Parliament passed an amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act reclassifying it and related substances as class C drugs - the same as cannabis.
There will be an amnesty on personal use for six months, but it will be illegal for anyone to be in possession of more than 100 pills, or 5g of BZP.
Dunedin retailer Herbal Heaven has been clearing out stock ahead of the ban, selling the pills from $1 each, instead of up to $10, for the past week.
Herbal Heaven owner John Cockburn told The Otago Daily Times hundreds of people had been buying remaining stock from his store in King Edward St, South Dunedin.
"Everybody's going crazy. People are coming in and spending $500 at a time.''
For $500, a customer could purchase 250 pills, or 50g, of BZP - 10 times what is now the legal possession amount.
Penalties for possession include up to three months in prison, while suppliers could be jailed for up to eight years.
Party pill store owners and manufacturers have criticised the sudden cut-off for selling pills, claiming it would encourage people to stockpile and binge.
Mr Cockburn said Herbal Heaven would close from today as it sold only party pills.
While other retailers are expected to move to other, non-BZP products, Mr Cockburn did not think he would.
Moray Pl party pill store Pillz 'n' Thrillz would be selling alternative pills from today, manager Rhys Glenn said when contacted yesterday by the ODT.
The store had also sold pills to "hundreds'' of people in the past few days, although its customers had mainly stocked up to the 5gm limit.
The New Zealand Drug Foundation yesterday called for a voluntary moratorium on sales of all new non-BZP party pills, expected to flood the market from today, until an independent analysis has been carried out to determine their risk.
New BZP-free products are already being advertised online by some retailers.
The drug foundation warns there is no information about what is in the new products or their health effects, and that consumers' health could be severely compromised.
Foundation executive director Ross Bell said the market was in the same "risky situation'' that existed when BZP pills were first introduced.
'We don't know what's in them, we don't know their effects and so we aren't able to provide good health and safety advice to consumers,'' Mr Bell said. - Debbie Porteous and NZPA
