Bath salts' latest drug to raise alarms

The synthetic stimulants are legal in most of the U.S. for now. As more users show up in emergency rooms, states are taking action.

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Dickie Sanders, left, with his father Dr. Richard Sanders. Dickie's… (Sanders Family)

January 28, 2011|By Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times

The website that hawks the "concentrated bath salts" warns in red letters: "Not for human consumption."

It cautions against using alcohol and prescription medications while "bathing," and adds, "PLEASE do not use this as SNUFF."

But the little packets of powder, with names like "Ivory Wave" and "Vanilla Sky," were never intended for the tub, and they're not among the fragrant samples in the bath and body shop at the local mall. The "bath salts," are powerful synthetic stimulants, designed to be comparable to cocaine or methamphetamine, and with similar risks, law enforcement and health officials say.

But unlike cocaine or meth, the stimulants are legal in most of the United States, at least for now, selling for about $25 to $40 a packet online and in convenience stores and head shops.

They've become the latest designer drug to raise alarms, as enterprising chemists find ways to stay a step ahead of drug laws.

Poison control centers around the country fielded 235 calls relating to the "bath salts" last year, and already have seen 214 cases this year, according to the American Assn. of Poison Control Centers. There have been scattered reports of users dying, either of overdose or drug-induced suicides or accidents. The drugs can induce extreme paranoia and, in some cases, delusions.

"The patients who were showing up with this, they were off the wall. Some of them looked like a true psychotic break," said Mark Ryan, director of the Louisiana Poison Center.

His state has been hardest hit, with more than 160 poison control cases and at least three deaths linked to the drugs — two apparent overdoses and a suicide — since the end of September, Ryan said. Gov. Bobby Jindal banned the chemical ingredients of the stimulants by in an emergency order this month. The order remains in effect for 120 days; the Legislature would need to act to make it permanent.

Officers went from store to store the day after Jindal's declaration and picked up hundreds of packages of the drug, said Capt. George Bonnett of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office. The first arrests under the ban were made Jan. 11 in Slidell, where a convenience store clerk and customer were arrested.

The United Kingdom, Ireland and other countries have already banned the drugs. .

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Officials fear bath salts becoming the next big drug menace

FULTON, MISS. - When Neil Brown got high on bath salts, he took his skinning knife and slit his face and stomach repeatedly. Brown survived, but authorities say others haven't been so lucky after snorting, injecting or smoking powders with such innocuous-sounding names as Ivory Snow, Red Dove and Vanilla Sky.

Law enforcement agents and poison control centers say the bath salts, with their complex chemical names, are an emerging menace in several U.S. states where authorities talk of banning their sale. Some say their effects can be as powerful as those of methamphetamine.
From the Deep South to California, emergency calls are being reported over exposure to the stimulants the powders often contain: mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone, also known as MDPV.
Sold under such names as Ivory Wave, Bliss, White Lightning and Hurricane Charlie, the chemicals can cause hallucinations, paranoia, a rapid heart rate and suicidal thoughts, authorities say. In addition to bath salts, the chemicals can be found in plant foods that are sold legally at convenience stores and on the Internet. However, they aren't necessarily being used for the purposes on the label.
Mississippi lawmakers this week began considering a proposal to ban the sale of the powders, and a similar measure is being sought in Kentucky. In Louisiana, the bath salts were outlawed by an emergency order after the state's poison center received more than 125 calls in the last three months of 2010 involving exposure to the chemicals.
In Brown's case, he said he had tried every drug from heroin to crack and was so shaken by terrifying hallucinations that he wrote to one Mississippi paper urging people to stay away from the bath salts.

"I couldn't tell you why I did it," Brown said, pointing to his scars. "The psychological effects are still there."
While Brown survived, sheriff's authorities in one Mississippi county say they believe one woman overdosed on bath salts there. In southern Louisiana, the family of a 21-year-old man says he cut his throat and ended his life with a gunshot. Authorities are investigating whether a man charged with capital murder in the December death of a Tippah County, Miss., sheriff's deputy was under the influence of the bath salts.
The stimulants are not regulated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, but are facing federal scrutiny. Law officers say some of the substances are being shipped from Europe, but origins are still unclear.
Gary Boggs, an executive assistant at the DEA, said there is a lengthy process to restrict these types of designer chemicals, including reviewing the abuse data. But it's a process that can take years.
Mark Ryan, director of Louisiana's poison control center, said he thinks state bans on the chemicals can be effective. He said calls about the salts have dropped sharply since Louisiana banned their sale in January.
Ryan said cathinone, the parent substance of the drugs, comes from a plant grown in Africa and is regulated. He said that MDPV and mephedrone are made in a lab and that they are not regulated because they are not marketed for human consumption. The stimulants affect neurotransmitters in the brain, he said.

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Bath salts suspected in Spanaway family deaths

OLYMPIA, Wash. — A synthetic drug sold as bath salts was found in the home, car and in the pockets of a Spanaway man who killed his wife and himself after a high-speed chase on Interstate 5.

Thurston County Coroner Gary Wornock said Thursday he's having the bodies of David Stewart and Kristy Sampels tested to see if they had used the chemicals April 5 before their deaths and the death of their 5-year-old son who was found suffocated at the home.

On Wednesday, the Washington state Pharmacy Board took emergency action to ban bath salt drugs after the state poison center reported a growing number of calls about people who became ill after using them as a substitute for cocaine or methamphetamine.

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DEA Names "Bath Salts" a Drug of Concern

Stimulants Have Effect Akin to Cocaine or Meth, Believed to Have Caused 4 Deaths in U.S.

There's a new designer drug that's raising alarm with authorities around the country. It's referred to as "bath salts," but it's really a dangerous stimulant with effects akin to cocaine or meth.

While relatively unheard of just a couple of years ago, its use is on the rise and it's believed to have caused at least four deaths around the country.

So what exactly are these new drugs -- and just how dangerous are they?

CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton explained these substances are not about spas or baths. 

She explained, "The name sounds harmless. In reality, they are anything but harmless. These contain a designer or synthetic drug, mephedrone or MDPV. It's an amphetamine. They're marketed as bath salts and you can find them online or in stores under names like Zoom 2 or Aura. Our producer found them very easily in New York City. When she asked for them, she was told, 'Wow, they're flying off the shelves. It's a good thing you're getting these.'"
Hill added, "One of our researchers was told these will get you really high."

But what exactly do they do?

Ashton said, "It's a central nervous system stimulant, so it will increase your blood pressure, increase your heart rate, can cause anything from chest pain, heart attack, stroke. Those are just the physical symptoms. Some psychological (symptoms include) delusions, paranoia, psychosis. They're highly addictive, very dangerous."

Ashton noted these substances have been reported to the Poison Control Centers by 33 states.

"Part of the reason why this has gone undetected and under the radar up until now is because they're relatively new. And if you look it at the numbers in 2009, there were no reported cases to Poison Control Centers in this country. (In 2010,) that number jumped to 236. This year alone, we've ready surpassed that with 248 cases. And remember, that's just what's reported."

Hill asked why there isn't more control on these substances.

Ashton replied, "I guarantee you there will be. In fact the (Drug Enforcement Agency) DEA has already labeled these drugs a drug of concern. And there is legislation occurring right now to make them controlled substances. Again, these things take time. You just see those that time period, two years is 24 months, and for the DEA to start investigate a drug, they first need to hear reported cases, then they need to get their scientific medical communities, as well as legal ducks in a row, if you will, and that takes time. But this is by no mistake a dangerous substance and we probably will be hearing a lot more about it."

But this isn't the only substance that is of concern, according to Ashton.

"This is just one in a growing list of substances readily available online or in stores," she said. "Just because they may come there synthetic substances or natural substances does not mean they are safe. They are potentially life-threatening."

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America's New Drug Problem: Snorting 'Bath Salts

All over the U.S., bath salts are being sold with names like “Ivory Wave,” “White Lightning” and “Hurricane Charlie.”

But these aren’t your average bath salts that you pour into the bathtub to soak in after a long, hard day to relax – these so-called bath salts are intended to be snorted, smoked or injected – and users are getting high off of them.

The Drug Enforcement Administration does not regulate these substances, but they are under federal scrutiny, as the effects of these salts are comparable to methamphetamine abuse, according to poison control centers and other law enforcement agencies.

Law officers say some of the substances are being shipped from Europe, but origins are still unclear.

The powders often contain mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone, also known as MDPV, and can cause hallucinations, paranoia, rapid heart rates and suicidal thoughts, authorities say. The chemicals are in products sold legally at convenience stores and on the Internet as bath salts and even plant foods. However, they aren't necessarily being used for the purposes on the label.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/01/24/americas-new-drug-problem-snorting-bath-salts/#ixzz1KB0tI9gC

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Bath salts are the latest example of designer drugs. Where do you see this trend going?

"That’s right. They are part of a long line of other pills and substances that we call designer drugs. And drug makers will keep creating new combinations at home and in illicit labs," Horowitz says. "It’s almost impossible to keep up. And the motivation for buying them is always the same: Drugs like these are new and below the radar, unlike named illegal drugs."


Are bath salts addictive? How are they taken?

"We don’t know if they are addictive. We have not had enough long-term experience with it. Acute toxicity is the main problem. But many stimulants do cause a craving. The people who take them are very creative. They snort it, shoot it, mix it with food and drink," Horowitz says.

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Charley Sheene Bath Salts

Amazing another drug dealer is pushing the new Charley Sheene bath salt drug.  Here is what they say about it:


With all the hype around Charlie sheen open drug use and overall craziness in the past month it seemed only a matter of time before a bath salt blend would pop up with his name on it. Sure enough in my hands I am holding a genuine bag of “Charley Sheene” bath salts. This particular blend comes as 500mg of a white flour-like substance. The effects were produced merely 30 minutes after my “bath” and entailed a great deal of euphoria and mental stimulation. Thoughts were flowing easily and the urge to interact had me chatting up a storm. My composure was easily kept though, which is a big plus seeing as other blends sometimes produce and overwhelming and uncomfortable stimulation that is unquenchable. I was coasting through the second hour with no urge to re-bathe at all. The comedown effects begun around hour 3 and after floating back down to base line over the next 45 minutes I felt no hangover, just a little tiredness. Sleep came easy and I awoke the next day feeling fully refreshed. All in all this blend was a breath of fresh air compared to other blends that have hit the market. The great feeling and lack of hangover earns it two big thumbs up in my book. 

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Drug Free Hotline:  1-(855)-HOPE-NOW   1-(855)-467-3669

Drug Addiction Library:  http://www.treatmentthatworks.com/