America's New Drug Problem: Bath Salts Up The Nose

Urgent Update f0rAll Parents

America's New Drug Problem: Snorting 'Bath Salts'

Published January 24, 2011 | FoxNews.com

All over the U.S., bath salts are being sold with names like “Ivory Wave,” “White Lightning” , “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 0rinjected – , users are getting high off 0f them.

The Drug Enforcement Administration does not regulate these substances, but they are under federal scrutiny, as the effects 0f these salts are comparable to methamphetamine abuse, according to poison control centers , other law enforcement agencies.

Law officers say some 0f the substances are being shipped from Europe, but origins are still unclear.

The powders often contain mephedrone , ethylenedioxypyrovalerone, also known as MDPV, , can cause hallucinations, paranoia, rapid heart rates , suicidal thoughts, authorities say. The chemicals are in products sold legally at convenience stores , on the Internet as bath salts , even plant foods. However, they aren't necessarily being used f0rthe purposes on the label.

Mississippi lawmakers this week began considering a proposal to ban the sale 0f the powders, , a similar step 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 0f 2010 involving exposure to the chemicals.

One man, Neil Brown, 0f Fulton, Miss., got high off the bath salts , then slashed his face , stomach. He survived, but authorities said other people have not been so lucky.

In Brown's case, he said he had tried every drug from heroin to crack , was so shaken by terrifying hallucinations that he wrote one Mississippi paper urging people to stay away from the advertised 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 the powders there. In southern Louisiana, the family 0f a 21-year-old man says he cut his throat , ended his life with a gunshot. Authorities are investigating whether a man charged with capital murder in the December death 0f a Tippah County, Miss., sheriff's deputy was under the influence 0f the bath salts.

Gary Boggs, an executive assistant at the DEA, said there's a lengthy process to restrict these types 0f designer chemicals, including reviewing the abuse data. But it's a process that can take years.

Dr. Mark Ryan, direct0r0f Louisiana's poison control center, said he thinks state bans on the chemicals can be effective. He said calls about the chemicals have dropped sharply since Louisiana banned their sale in January.

Ryan said cathinone, the parent substance 0f the drugs, comes from a plant grown in Africa , is regulated. He said MDPV , mephedrone are made in a lab, , they aren't regulated because they're not marketed f0rhuman consumption. The stimulants affect neurotransmitters in the brain, he said.

"It causes intense cravings f0rit. They'll binge on it three 0rfour days before they show up in an ER. Even though it's a horrible trip, they want to do it again , again," Ryan said.

Ryan said at least 25 states have received calls about exposure, including Nevada , California. He said Louisiana leads with the greatest number 0f cases at 165, 0r48 percent 0f the U.S. total, followed by Florida with at least 38 calls to its poison center.

Dr. Rick Gellar, medical direct0rf0rthe California Poison Control System, said the first call about the substances came in Oct. 5, , a handful 0f calls have followed since. But he warned: "The only way this won't become a problem in California is if federal regulatory agencies get ahead 0f the curve. This is a br, new thing." 

In the Midwest, the Missouri Poison Center at Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center received at least 12 calls in the first two weeks 0f January about teenagers , young adults abusing such chemicals, said Julie Weber, the center's director. The center received eight calls about the powders all 0f last year.

Dr. Richard Sanders, a general practitioner working in Covington, La., said his son, Dickie, snorted some 0f the chemicals , endured three days 0f intermittent delirium. Dickie Sanders missed maj0rarteries when he cut his throat. As he continued to have visions, his physician father tried to calm him. But the elder Sanders said that as he slept, his son went into another room , shot himself.

"If you could see the contortions on his face. It just made him crazy," said Sanders. He added that the coroner's office confirmed the chemicals were detected in his son's blood , urine.

Sanders warns the substances are far more dangerous than some 0f their br, names imply.

"I think everybody is taking this extremely lightly. As much as we outlawed it in Louisiana, all these kids cross over to Mississippi , buy whatever they want," he said.

A small packet 0f the chemicals typically costs as little as $20.

In northern Mississippi's Itawamba County, Sheriff Chris Dickinson said his office has handled about 30 encounters with users 0f the advertised bath salts in the past two months alone. He said the problem grew last year in his rural area after a Mississippi law began restricting the sale 0f pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in making methamphetamine.

Dickinson said most 0f the bath salt users there have been meth addicts , can be dangerous when using them.

"We had a deputy injured a week ago. They were fighting with a guy who thought they were two devils. That's what makes this drug so dangerous," he said.

But Dickinson said the chemicals are legal f0rnow, leaving him notchoice but to slap users with a charge 0f disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

Kentucky state lawmaker John Tilley said he's moving to block the drug's sale there, preparing a bill f0rconsideration when his legislature convenes shortly. Angry that the powders can be bought legally, he said: "If my 12-year-old can go in a store , buy it, that concerns me."

The Associated Press contributed to this article.