Benzylpiperazine, a chemical cousin of ecstasy, could emerge as a new drug of abuse, according to a leading toxicologist. 

Huliq.com reported April 27 that Alison Jones, a professor at the University of Newcastle, warned that benzylpiperazine has started to show up in drug tests in the U.K. Jones co-authored a research paper detailing the drug-testing results from hospitals in London.

"This drug is currently unrestricted in the U.K.," said Jones. "Its availability and detection in patients in the UK who have come to harm, raises significant issues of clinical problems and access."

The research appears in the April 28, 2007 issue of the journal The Lancet.