1 3 dimethylamylamine

A Nelson party pill manufacturer is standing by his product's safety as health officials call for restrictions, claiming that those who have been harmed by new-generation party pills were also taking illegal drugs.

Manufacturer and importer Dale Johnsen, who switched from making BZP-based pills to pills based on 1 3 dimethylamylamine when BZP was outlawed in April, said the new product was selling well in Nelson but was not as popular as the old pills.

His assertion that the new drug, taken in correct doses, is safe comes after reports that four users in other areas of the country became seriously ill after taking 1 3 dimethylamylamine.

Advice to the Government's expert drug committee highlights concerns about DMAA, a derivative of geranium oil that reportedly gives users an adrenalin rush.

DMAA is an ingredient in several brands of new-generation party pills that are being sold nationally without age restrictions.

Papers released under the Official Information Act show that a 45-year-old man suffered a stroke after taking DMAA in powder form, and other users have been hospitalized with severe nausea and headaches.

But Mr Johnsen said he had heard "through the grapevine" that the people who had suffered bad reactions had also been taking class A illegal drugs.

He said the new pills had a lower-strength dose than the BZP pills, which meant that while they were increasingly popular, they had failed to match the popularity of BZP pills.

He knew of no one who had become ill purely from taking DMAA.

Tim Kelly, owner of Nelson store Gizmos, said he had heard of a few people getting sore stomachs after taking too much DMAA, but this was the worst problem he knew of, and was probably a good side effect because it prevented dangerous excess.

"From what I have seen, they are pretty safe."

Nelson Addiction Service youth clinician John Glazier said no DMAA-related problems had come to his attention but there was a chance that they were still to come, as drug-related problems could take months to develop.

Nelson Marlborough District Health Board medical services district manager Lindsey Bates said people occasionally came to the Nelson Hospital emergency department as a result of party pill use, but the new-generation pills had not produced an increase in numbers.

"The safest option is no drug use."

The industry estimates that about 100,000 DMAA-based party pills have been sold since BZP was banned in April.

A Health Ministry report to the Government's expert drug committee said that while it believed some hospital admissions were due to DMAA use, there was not enough evidence to ban it.

"(But) the ministry believes the regulation of DMAA as a restricted substance would be a preferable course of action to the status quo."

Drug Foundation director Ross Bell said the effects of DMAA were still unknown, and classification would mean it could be sold with health warnings and age restrictions.