I was watching a program recently where they were talking about the rise in the use of heroin by young adults 18-25. The price is cheap, access is easy, and quick as can be, they're hooked. They also talked about bath salts, and their rise in popularity, for a number of reasons, but one big draw of the drug is that there is no test to detect their use. Because they are a fairly new drug, they are difficult to detect. Drug users who need to take frequent drug tests are turning to bath salts, because up to now, their use cannot be detected.
The results of the use of bath salts can be deadly, both for the user and others. There have been several recent cases in the news about users of this drug who became violent and cannibalistic. A few cases are known where the drug user bit off part of the face and other body parts of people they attacked. They had no memory of doing this, which makes it even scarier. The drug is easily accessible by anyone over 18, no questions asked. Dr. Drew says the chemical makeup of the drug is changed frequently, so users don't know from one time to another what they're really taking. Below is an exerpt from www.webmd. that explains what the drug is and its consequences.
No, these are not the bath salts I buy when I feel tired and achey and just want to relax. We have a new use for something old, and very therapeutic. The new use is quite the opposite.
First of all, what are bath salts?
"The presumption is that most bath salts are MDPV, or methylenedioxypyrovalerone, although newer pyrovalerone derivatives are being made by illegal street chemists. Nobody really knows, because there is no way to test for these substances," Horowitz says.Why are they called bath salts?
"It’s confusing. Is this what we put in our bathtubs, like Epsom salts? No. But by marketing them as bath salts and labeling them 'not for human consumption,' they have been able to avoid them being specifically enumerated as illegal," Horowitz says.What do you experience when you take bath salts?
"Agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, chest pain, suicidality. It’s a very scary stimulant that is out there. We get high blood pressure and increased pulse, but there’s something more, something different that’s causing these other extreme effects. But right now, there’s no test to pick up this drug. The only way we know if someone has taken them is if they tell you they have.The clinical presentation is similar to mephedrone [a chemical found in other designer drugs], with agitation, psychosis, and stimulatory effects. Both of these agents should be of concern, as severe agitated behavior, like an amphetamine overdose, has occurred.
A second concern is the ongoing suicidality in these patients, even after the stimulatory effects of the drugs have worn off. At least for MDPV, there have been a few highly publicized suicides a few days after their use," Horowitz says.
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