By Jessie Halladay
USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — A growing number of states are moving to ban a new synthetic drug known as “bath salts” that can cause severe side effects, including paranoia, hallucinations and sometimes violent behavior.
Emergency bans have been issued in Louisiana, North Dakota and Florida. Legislators in Hawaii, Kentucky, North Dakota and Mississippi have introduced bills to ban the drug, which can be sold legally in stores and online in most places.
Calls to poison centers across the nation have skyrocketed in recent weeks as the drug has grown in popularity, officials in several states say.
Nationwide, there have been more than 360 calls about the drug this year, said Mark Ryan, director of the Louisiana Poison Center, who has been studying the trend.
There were 291 calls in all of 2010, Ryan said.
The drug has been compared to cocaine and methamphetamine because of its addictive characteristics, Ryan said.
Many of the products, sold under names such as Cloud Nine, Ivory Wave and Blue Silk, contain methylenedioxypyrovalerone, or MDPV, which is a chemical not approved for medical use in the United States.
Packages containing the powdery substance are typically labeled “not for human consumption” and marketed as “bath salts,” Ryan said, or as plant food or insect repellent.
Users mostly snort the drug, similar to cocaine. But it is versatile and can be injected, smoked or even eaten, he said.
“It’s some serious stuff,” said Steven Spady, a Kentucky physician who has treated patients suffering from the effects of bath salts. Patients have exhibited signs of high anxiety, hypertension and agitation and, in one case, the patient was “quite psychotic,” Spady said.
Last week, White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske issued a warning against taking the synthetic products.
“They pose a serious threat to the health and well-being of young people and anyone who uses them,” Kerlikowske said in a statement.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, issued an emergency ban on Jan. 6 for six substances, including MDPV and mephedrone, the most common chemicals in the drug.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi also issued an emergency ban that took effect Jan. 26.
“These are dangerous drugs that should not be confused with any type of common bath product,” Bondi said.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week that he will introduce legislation to ban bath salts nationwide.
John Moody of St. Joseph, Mo., knows firsthand the devastation bath salts can have. His 29-year-old son, Jarrod, killed himself in October after using the drug for at least two weeks. Moody said his son had struggled with a painkiller addiction a couple of years before.
“I’m sure Jarrod bought this stuff over the counter thinking this stuff can’t be that strong, can’t be that dangerous,” John Moody said. “But, oh my gosh, are they ever.”
Ryan said he’s certain people don’t know what they are in for when they try the drug.
“If you take the worst characteristics of LSD, PCP, Ecstasy, cocaine and methamphetamine and put all those together, you’ve got one big bad thing,” Ryan said.
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