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TagsBY CHRISTINE SAVOIA
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
A dangerous new type of drug is growing in popularity; dubbed “bath salts” these chemical concoctions are mixtures that promise the effects of not one, but two, highly addictive and already dangerous drugs.
According to Drug Addiction Treatment, bath salts are a synthetic compound of amphetamine, whose effects mirror those of methamphetamine and cocaine. Instead of canceling each other out, users feel the effect of both drugs – which are potent enough on their own.
Reports to poison control centers for abuse of the new drug have skyrocketed in only two years, going from zero bath salt-related cases in 2009, to over 6,00 reports in 2011, according to Drug Addiction Treatment. This statistic is also skewering reports that might otherwise look positive: while use of drugs like cocaine has been reported to be on the decline, use of bath salts has grown at a shocking rate.
Labeled an “emerging domestic threat” in a 2011 report by the U.S. Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center, bath salts are a growing problem because of their availability “in retail establishments and over the Internet, and some local independent dealers sell the products.”
It goes on to say that the drugs do come in from foreign countries and are sometimes sold in combination with other synthetic drugs – or even marked as different other drugs altogether.
While the “pleasant” effects of the drug are a super combination of the sensations felt using the base drugs, bath salts are extremely potent, and thus carry as much (if not more) risk as most illegal substances.
According to Drug Addiction Treatment, bath salts “effect the central nervous system by raising heart rate and blood pressure which can lead to severe chest pain or even heart attack. Psychological symptoms include agitation, paranoia, delusions and psychosis.”
The National Drug Intelligence Center’s report also said that hospitals reported having patients who abused bath salts, with symptoms like chest pain, headaches, and suicidal thoughts.
