Bath Salts and Synthetic

NATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL NATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL

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What are bath salts? laws limiting possession and distri- The term, “bath salts” is a clever bution of these substances but the marketing gimmick to disguise dan- problem still persists. Presently, 20 gerous synthetic synthetic marijuana compounds; two commonly known as bath salt compounds, mephedrone and MDPV (3-4 methylenedioxypy- and MDPV (3-4 methylenedioxypy- rovalerone). Bath salts are white rovalerone); and nine synthetic hal- powdery substances that usually lucinogens known as the -E family come in a plastic container or a little are now deemed illegal under federal pouch. They are recreational drugs law. Possession or distribution of that have gained popularity among these substances is subject to seizure teens and young adults. Known for and arrest. their bizarre effects on the user, they To circumvent these new federal and state laws, clandestine drug manu- are highly addictive. By labeling the facturers, mostly located outside of the drugs as bath salts and marking them United States, have slightly changed as “not for human consumption,” the drugs’ chemical structures by sim- bath salts have been able to avoid ply adding or changing a molecule. regulation. Bath salts are often sold This now legally changes the chemical as a retail product in some neighbor- structure of the bath salts and by defi- hood convenience stores, cigarette or nition is no longer the chemical listed smoke shops, as well as being avail- as a banned substance under the law. able for purchase via some Internet Therefore, these new substances are sites. Is this legal? Yes and no. legal and not subject to seizure. As this In July 2012, Congress passed P.L. 112-144, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Safety and Innovation Act, classifying 31 syn- thetic drug substances as Sched- ule I drugs under the Controlled Substance Act. This places these substances in the most restrictive cat- egory of controlled substances. Many states have enacted similar restrictive Figure 1. Photo by DEA Bath Salts ever-evolving issue continues, federal The effects on users the United States, the DEA reports and state laws are attempting to iden- illicit MDPV use in Europe and Bath salts affect both the mind and tify hundreds of these new chemicals Australia. The first reports of MDPV body. Users often experience the same being sold as legal products, mainly seizure was from Germany in 2007. effects as , , to teens and young adults. Because The United Kingdom, Australia, and LSD, such as agitation, paranoia, of the swiftness of the changes made Canada, and Israel have banned the hallucinations, insomnia, dizziness, by the drug traffickers, it takes time chemicals. According to the DEA, chest pain, suicidal thoughts, high for law enforcement and the law to the first U.S. reports came in 2009. blood pressure, nosebleeds, nausea, “catch up.” From 2010-2011, reports in the vomiting, and a rapid pulse. Because The Federal Analog Act, 21 United States increased dramatically. these drugs are still relatively new, U.S.C. Section 813 helps to address In the first three months of 2011, the full effects on users are still being the U.S. poison control centers had these chemical changes by allowing researched and investigated. Drug received five times as many calls confiscation and prosecution of “like” Enforcement Administration (DEA) relating to bath salts as compared substances that cause similar effects; Administrator Michele M. Leonhart but, case law is minimal in this area. to the total number of calls in 2010 stated that “these chemicals pose a (www.drugs.com/bath-salts.html). Time will determine if the Analog direct and significant threat” (DEA statute is the right tool to address This includes 45 states and the news , October 21, 2011). District of Columbia. these newly developed compounds. Prior to the federal ban, many Other names for bath salts The risks and long-term effects states had enacted their own bans on at least some of the chemicals Bath salts are sold under a variety In 2012, poison centers took 2,655 found in bath salts. Marquette of brand or street names including: calls about exposures to bath salts County, Michigan, took quick and Aura, Black Rob, Bliss, Blizzard, (www.aapcc.org/alerts/bath-salts/). In local action to restrict abuse of bath Bloom, Blue Silk, Cloud 9, Drone, January and February of 2013 there salts in February 2011 due to a Hurricane Charlie, Ivory Wave, had been 179 calls to poison centers rash of emergency admissions from Lovey Dovey, Lunar Wave, Maddie, relating to bath salt use (https://aapcc. November 2010 through March MCAT, Meow Meow, Monkey s3.amazonaws.com/files/library/Bath_ 2011. An emergency public health Dust, MTV, Ocean Snow, Peeve, Salts_Data_for_Website_2.282013. order was executed by the Marquette Purple Wave, PV, Red Dove, pdf). What doctors at poison centers County Health Department to allow Scarface, Snow Leopard, Stardust, have reported is that bath salts can seizure of bath salts from a local store. Super Coke, Vanilla Sky, White cause rapid heartbeat, high blood pres- Subsequent testing found that the Lightning, and Zoom. sure, chest pains, agitation, hallucina- products contained MDPV. Among tions, extreme paranoia, and delusions. 35 patients, 17 were hospitalized, There are many similarities to and one died. The median age of the . Taking a lot of it patient was 28 years (range 20-55 for a long time can lead to emotional years), with men accounting for 54 and physical “crash-like” feelings percent of admissions. Twenty-four of depression, anxiety, and intense of these patients (69 percent) had a cravings for more of the drug. self-reported history of drug abuse, 16 patients (46 percent) had a history Extent of bath salt use of mental illness, and six patients The full extent of bath salt abuse is (17 percent) reported suicidal Figure 2. Photo by DEA not yet known. In addition to use in thoughts or attempts that may have

2 Synthetic

been related to bath salt use (www. drugs.com/bath-salts.html).

Resources on bath salt prevention and awareness ■■ www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/ directors-page/messages-director/ 2011/02/bath-salts-emerging- Blaze, Genie, Zohai, JWH -018, two to ten times stronger than the dangerous-products -073, -250, Yucatan Fire, Skunk, and normal drug (www.fas.org/sgp/ ■■ www.webmd.com/mental-health/ Moon Rocks. (www.drugfree.org/ crs/misc/R42066.pdf). Synthetic features/bath-salts-drug-dangers drug-guide/k2-spice). marijuana has yet to be studied ■■ www.drugs.com/bath-salts.html indepth, however it is known to act ■■ www.homehealthtesting.com/ The effects on users on the same cell receptors as THC. blog/2011/05/what-are-bath-salts/ Synthetic marijuana is most often Even though the drug is meant to ■■ www.drugrehab.org/drug-rehab/ smoked, but has been known to mimic THC, some of the ingredients bath-salt-drug-rehab/ be taken orally in the form of . in synthetic marijuana bind more Symptoms are similar to those strongly to those receptors, leading to Synthetic Cannabinoids produced by marijuana, including an unpredictable effect. sleepiness, relaxation, and reduced Synthetic drugs are still a fairly What are synthetic cannabinoids? blood pressure. However, other new product so the long-term effects Synthetic cannabinoids, also known symptoms such as rapid heart rate, have not been studied. However, as synthetic marijuana, are chemically vomiting, agitation, confusion, and according to a White House report, produced drugs that mimic or hallucinations, have been reported synthetic marijuana has been known enhance the effects of natural drugs. as well. Synthetic marijuana also to cause agitation, extreme nervous- Synthetic marijuana is produced to can raise blood pressure and cause ness, nausea, vomiting, tachycardia mimic (THC). reduced blood supply to the heart (fast, racing heartbeat), elevated Synthetic marijuana looks like dried (myocardial ischemia), and in a few blood pressure, tremors and seizures, herbs or leaves (similar to the look cases it has been associated with hallucinations, and dilated pupils. of potpourri) and are often sold heart attacks (www.drugabuse. There have also been several heart in small foil packets. These drugs gov/publications/drugfacts/spice- attack cases linked with synthetic are often labeled “not for human synthetic-marijuana). drug use. consumption” and sold as incense. The substance is sprayed onto The risks and long-term effects Extent of synthetic drug use dried herbs and is smoked or ingested Because many users believe synthetic Originally, synthetic marijuana was causing a psychoactive effect similar drugs to be the legal alternative, created for research purposes in the to the effects of marijuana (www.fas. it is assumed that these drugs 1980s through the 1990s. Even org/sgp/crs/misc/R42066.pdf). are safe. One of the reasons why though these drugs were created for synthetic drugs are so dangerous research, there has been no legitimate Other names for synthetic is that it is difficult to know the uses found for the chemicals. In cannabinoids chemical makeup. According to the 2009 poison control centers began The most common names for Congressional Research Service, reporting on the numbers and effects synthetic marijuana are K2, Spice, there are many different formulas of these drugs. In 2012 there were Bliss, Black Mamba, Bombay Blue, and potencies that can range from 5,202 calls to poison control centers Synthetic Cannabinoids about synthetic marijuana exposure. Within the first two months of 2013 there had already been 412 calls (https://aapcc.s3.amazonaws.com/ files/library/Synthetic_Marijuana_ Data_for_Website_2.28.2013.pdf). A case in Cypress, Texas, shows how dangerous synthetic marijuana can be. On December 8, 2012, a it illegal to sell, buy, or possess these Drug Enforcement Administration 16-year-old girl named Emily Bauer chemicals. In July 2012, a national www.justice.gov/dea was taken to the emergency room ban was enacted against the sale of after synthetic marijuana. synthetic cannabinoids under the Gateway Foundation She was suffering from hallucina- Food and Drug Administration www.recovergateway.org tions and violent outbursts. A few Safety and Innovation Act. Prior to days later, she suffered several strokes. the DEA and FDA bans, at least 38 Minnesota Prevention Emily was taken off of life support states had taken action to control one Resource Center and expected to die; however, the or more of these chemicals. www.mnprc.org/resources next day she was still alive. While Emily survived and is making Resources on synthetic marijuana National Institute on Drug Abuse progress, she can no longer walk, prevention and awareness www.drugabuse.gov eat, or talk on her own (www.cnn. ■■ www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/ com/2013/02/04/health/synthetic- ondcp-fact-sheets/synthetic-drugs- The Partnership® at DrugFree.org marijuana-irpt). While Emily’s case k2-spice-bath-salts www.drugfree.org is extreme, it is not the only one. ■■ www.socialworktoday.com/ According to a report by the Sub- archive/070212p12.shtml and Mental stance Abuse and Mental Health ■■ www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/ Health Services Administration Services Administration (SAMHSA), emerging-drugs www.samhsa.gov synthetic marijuana was linked to ■■ www.narconon.org/drug-abuse/ 11,406 of the 4.9 million drug- effects-of-synthetic-drugs.html WebMD related emergency department visits ■■ www.drugfree.org/wp-content/ www.webmd.com in 2010 (www.samhsa.gov/news- uploads/2012/02/Parents360- room/advisories/1212040915.aspx). Synthetics-Bath-Salts-K2-Spice- Subject Matter Expert Resource In past years, these drugs have Parents-Guide-FINAL-2-13-12.pdf Stephen P. Peterson, Special Agent been easily accessible at gas stations, DEA Headquarters head shops, and even over the For Further Information Demand Reduction Section Internet. In February 2011, the DEA American Association of Poison 202-307-7986 banned five ingredients commonly Control Centers found in synthetic marijuana making www.aapcc.org

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