1st Body in San Diego County Tests Positive for "Bath Salts

Source: 1st Body in County Tests Positive for "Bath Salts" | NBC San Diego

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The medical examiner’s office reported Friday, for the first time in San Diego County, a body tested positive for compounds that produce an amphetamine-like high found in so-called “bath salts”, according to the North County Times.

The designer drug product, which sometimes resemble bath salts, can be found on European websites, as well on the shelves of North County smoke shops, the paper reported.

However, unlike the more common bath salts, these chemical-laced products contain simulated cathinoes that when injected or smoked can produce a methamphetamine and Ecstacy-like high.

Users of the drug feel alert, euphoric and more aware of the sense, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The drugs can be addictive and can cause panic attacks, hypertension, high blood pressure, nosebleeds, dizziness and erratic behavior.

Details about the death of the middle-aged man have yet to be released said Dr. Iain McIntyre, chief toxicologist for the medical examiner's office, but he told the NCT the positive find was the office’s first since they began testing in May.

"We had heard about it ('bath salt' products) through various conferences and scientific meetings, and decided to see if we could test for it here with our current methods," McIntyre said in an interview. "Turns out we can."

28 states have banned the product and earlier this year Assemblyman Ben Hueso, D-Chula Vista, introduced Assembly Bill 486, which would ban the products in California.

Police officials in Escondido and Carlsbad told NCT they were aware bath salts were on sale throughout the city, but they hadn’t seen any arrests or major criminal investigations concerning it.

Figures on the American Association of Poison Control Centers show reports that poison centers took 303 calls about synthetic cathinones in 2010. The site also reports between January 1 and July 7 of this year, it had taken 3,740 calls.

Though abuse of the bath salts has increased across the nation, a federal ban by the DEA could take years, since they require intense scrutiny.

For more information visit the North County Times or NBC San Diego

Source: 1st Body in County Tests Positive for "Bath Salts" | NBC San Diego

Fort Lewis soldier who killed wife, self had taken synthetic 'bath salts' drug

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 An Army medic who police say shot and killed his wife before turning the gun on himself in April was under the influence of a powerful drug known as "bath salts."

By Christine Clarridge

Seattle Times staff reporter

An Army medic who police say shot and killed his wife before turning the gun on himself in April was under the influence of a powerful drug known as "bath salts."

On Monday, the Thurston County Coroner's Office said toxicology tests done on David Stewart, 38, and Kristy Sampels, 38, revealed they both had the bath-salt chemical, methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) in their bodies when they died. While the results help explain the behavior of Stewart, according to the coroner, it does not shed light on what happened to the couple's 5-year-old son, who was found suffocated in the couple's Spanaway home.

Bath salts, which in April was being sold legally to state residents in tobacco shops and over the Internet, have a chemical composition that's similar to methamphetamine, according to the Washington Poison Center.

The state Board of Pharmacy issued an emergency 120-day ban on the drugs 10 days after the deaths of Stewart and Sampels and the process for a permanent prohibition of the drugs and their chemical components is under way, according Donn Moyer, a spokesman for the state Department of Health.

Stewart, a twice-deployed combat medic stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, shot his wife and then himself on April 5 outside Tumwater in front of a State Patrol trooper who had pulled him over for speeding on Interstate 5. Their son, Jordan Stewart, was later found dead in the family's Spanaway home. The boy, who died of asphyxiation April 4, had bruising on his body and a bag over his head, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office.

The additional toxicology test for MDPV was ordered after Thurston County death investigators found a small jar of "Lady Bubbles" brand bath salts in Stewart's pocket and noticed granules of the substance in his car, according to Coroner Gary Warnock.

According to Jim Williams, the Washington Poison Center's executive director, bath-salt drugs first came to the attention of law enforcement authorities and medical personnel last year in Louisiana, where the drugs are now banned.

Since then, the drugs, which are believed to be manufactured in Asia, have made their way across the country, where they have been linked to numerous incidents of violence, Williams said in April.

Williams said the drug, which is typically snorted, is believed to be similar to, but more addictive than, methamphetamine.

Bath salts are not to be confused with Epsom salts or soaking salts that are sold in the bath aisles of pharmacies or beauty-supply shops, Williams said.