Bath Salts, which first emerged in Europe, have risen as a new threat to American streets already ridden with an array of drug addictions.
Recent headlines have been coated with what seem like completely unrealistic stories; like that of Rudy Eugene, who was fatally shot after he refused to stop eating another man’s face on a downtown Miami highway ramp from the abuse of bath salts.
In Blue Springs, Mo. Jessy Letellier was involved in an apparent murder-suicide that left two adults and two young children dead. Letellier’s sister Tonya Scott believes bath salts are to blame.
And recent headlines aren’t the first we’ve heard of this dangerous – but legal – drug.
In 2010 a 21-year-old Louisiana man, Dickie Sanders, slashed his own throat after ingesting bath salts, then shot himself after the wound had been stitched up. In addition, in Washington State it was reported that the toxicology reports of U.S. Army medic David Stewart, who allegedly killed his five year old son, his wife, and himself in April of 2011, showed bath salts in his system.
So what are bath salts and what do they do to cause such tragedy?
Ivory Wave, Bliss, and Vanilla Sky are among some of the many street names attributed to the so-called designer drug. It is comprised of a synthetic odorless white powder that can be ingested by the user in a variety of ways and is reported to produce effects similar to methamphetamine. Users can experience:
- Hallucinations caused by psychotic breaks or the influence of drugs such as LSD
- Agitation
- Paranoia
- Chest pain
- Suicidality
While the drug’s active compounds were placed on an emergency ban by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in September, the scary fact is that it can still be found in convenience stores, smoke shops, and online. It is sold in packets or jars and often labeled as “not intended for human consumption.”
Kids who would be too scared to go buy marijuana try this because it’s legal, but this is really bad stuff. It’s not a fun high. I’ve never seen somebody on bath salts happy.”
Dr. Howard Mell
In 2010, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported that it had received 304 calls about reactions to bath salts. That number drastically jumped to more than 6,100 in 2011.
While the long-term effects of the drug are still unknown, what can be taken from these events is bath salts are EXTREMELY dangerous.
We want to put an end to the common myth that if a drug is still considered “legal” then it is okay and safe to use. Drugs such as bath salts, while legally sold in the United States, are still extremely dangerous and have the ability to invoke numerous negative side effects. The mystery surrounding these negative side effects is what makes abusing drug-like substances even more worrisome.
Don’t let experimenting with a “legal” drug place you or your loved one in one of these tragic headlines.
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