PSA - "bath salts"

[ThrottleJockey]

Please be aware of the "new" designer drug known as "bath salts". It is a lot like meth, sold over the internet primarily, unregulated, legal in most places however IN banned it along with the simulated pot. It is hundreds of times more addictive than meth or heroin and when coming down from a "high" it causes severe depression and extremely/out of character violent tendencies. All this of course is dependent upon the user actually surviving. I lost one of my very best friends to it this past Tuesday. He had been battling addiction for quite some time and thought that since this stuff was still legal in his home state that it would be okay. IT IS NOT OKAY. IT IS NOT A SAFE ALTERNATIVE TO OTHER DRUGS. That's about all I know about it, if anyone has anything to add, please do and let your friends and loved ones know about this effing garbage. Thank you all and God bless.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

As an unregulated substance there are no quality controls in place and no purity or content standard. VERY BAD JUJU.

 

[Gabriel]

We deal with people that are on that pretty much daily and, yeah, it's pretty bad stuff.

 

[danmdevries]

We deal with people that are on that pretty much daily and, yeah, it's pretty bad stuff.

Where at?

Haven't seen it come through Community. Or maybe I have and was unidentified/no admission. I know I've seen a few on the "spice" but nobody that's admitted to bath salts. I have noticed an increase in UDS positive for PCP, do these bath salts have a similar metabolite as pcp? Seems as if it has similar psychoactive effect.

I'd check into it myself but I don't care enough. People are going to find something else when this one's gone.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

As with "spice", a lot of victims try to blame their maladies on unrelated issues. Example, teens using bath salts or EXTC will claim it is the result of something "legal" rather than admit their stupidity. I've noticed some of the kids accusing spice of the problems are actually on a cocktail of other crap, but will say "it was spice" instead of admitting to their families that they are retarded.

 

[Mr.JAG]

My mother has worked as the charge RN in the psych department for years (both Wishard and Bloomington Hospital). Which basically means she deals with people that are either schizophrenic, depressed, crazy, or addicted to some substance.

Lately, all of her best stories are coming from her patients that are strung out on bath salts. Apparently that is some crazy stuff. According to her, she would rather deal with someone strung out on coke or meth.

I can't say that I personally know what it does, but I can say I believe it's some crazy bad stuff.

 

[TREETOP]

It's been around since at least 2007, it just flies under the radar- kinda like those little roses sold in the glass tubes, they're not "marketed" as drugs or paraphernalia so they don't get much attention.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

My mother has worked as the charge RN in the psych department for years (both Wishard and Bloomington Hospital). Which basically means she deals with people that are either schizophrenic, depressed, crazy, or addicted to some substance.

Lately, all of her best stories are coming from her patients that are strung out on bath salts. Apparently that is some crazy stuff. According to her, she would rather deal with someone strung out on coke or meth.

I can't say that I personally know what it does, but I can say I believe it's some crazy bad stuff.

At least 14 teens in Blaine MN died from it last weekend alone. Then there is my friend of 20+ years that was actually on the road to recovery....Dave died monday night/tuesday morning. The really sad part is that "spice" and his experiences with it lead him to trust the bath salts marketed by the same company. It really is a true example of "gateway" use combined with brand marketing. A truly lethal cocktail. I just DARE the effers responsible for tyhe manufacture and marketing to show their faces in the USA. Oh, wait, it's the scary yellow commies.....BRING IT ON, I"M HERE WAITING. Of course they know that, that's why they keep our PAID REPRESENTATIVES at ease and keep their pockets padded. Seriously, enough is enough. Lead and mercury in childrens toys, counterfiet pharms, poisoned dog food, toxic and smelly drywall, direct attacks upon internet, counterfeit microchips in ALL of our gov. systems, etc....all intentional, well known and blatant violations of every agreement with them. I personally declare WAR upon all things yellow. No other nation in the world would still exist without our direct sacrifice and support. IMO, debt paid. Default and dare them to come begging. Let them all fall,they already have or they wouldn't still be begging for us to provide them with coat hangers.

 

[Expat]

We should be celebrating that these drugs are still legal and able to be consumed by the dead teens.

RIP to your friend. Prayers sent.

 

[Fletch]

We should be celebrating that these drugs are still legal and able to be consumed by the dead teens.

If actual drugs were legal, far fewer people would be trying ever-more desperate and dangerous methods to get high.

 

[Gabriel]

I personally declare WAR upon all things yellow.

 

[jsharmon7]

If actual drugs were legal, far fewer people would be trying ever-more desperate and dangerous methods to get high.

Bath salts are illegal; as are LSD, meth, crack, cocaine, etc. They are all dangerous, so what does legality have to do with this? Or are you saying that if something less dangerous like marijuana were legal there would be no need for those other drugs? That's not accurate.

 

[Fletch]

Bath salts are illegal; as are LSD, meth, crack, cocaine, etc. They are all dangerous, so what does legality have to do with this? Or are you saying that if something less dangerous like marijuana were legal there would be no need for those other drugs? That's not accurate.

All of the nastier drugs have become more prevalent as the war on drugs has pushed the price and availability of less dangerous counterparts out of reach of all but the wealthiest and best-connected. If cocaine was ten bucks a gram, no one would feel the need to cut it with drain cleaner. If amphetamine pills were available over the counter like aspirin, nobody would be risking their lives to cook crystal meth.

It's basic economics: lower the total (not just money) cost of a reasonable alternative far enough, and no one will buy or demand the more expensive stuff, especially when costs are measured in risk, damage, and lives.

 

[AZ Hunter]

Spice or K2, supposedly made for insence....NOT!! People, including our youth, smoking it to get the feeling of being high on marijuana. The benifit to them is they will not test positive for THC on a drug screen. In AZ, it is now a class 4 felony to possess K2/spice. It is only a felony 6 for possession of marijuana. AZ decided to take a get tough quick approach to rid ourselves of this problem. (At least put a dent in it) This includes any smoke shops having it on the shelf. We were having several our of youth on Probation end up in the hospital from the negative side effects of this crap!

We heard about the bath salts about 6 months or so ago. We always look for them when searching rooms!

 

[Rookie]

Excuse my ignorance, are they ACTUALLY bath salts or just marketed as such?

 

[jsharmon7]

All of the nastier drugs have become more prevalent as the war on drugs has pushed the price and availability of less dangerous counterparts out of reach of all but the wealthiest and best-connected. If cocaine was ten bucks a gram, no one would feel the need to cut it with drain cleaner. If amphetamine pills were available over the counter like aspirin, nobody would be risking their lives to cook crystal meth.

Cocaine is dangerous in pure form or cut with toxic powders so I'm unsure to which less dangerous counterpart you're referring. To me that's like asking which is more deadly, a .22 or .45? The .45 is probably worse, but the .22 will do the job just the same. Also, people who sell cocaine would still cut it with drain cleaner because the vast majority of them care nothing about the customer and only about money. You'd have to get cocaine prices below drain cleaner prices in order for the economics to change. Even then cocaine would still be dangerous and addictive. Also, I believe you could legalize everything tomorrow and people would still pursue newer and bigger highs. You'd still have newer and more dangerous drugs like bath salts and K2 coming out every few years and this problem would persist.

It's basic economics: lower the total (not just money) cost of a reasonable alternative far enough, and no one will buy or demand the more expensive stuff, especially when costs are measured in risk, damage, and lives.

I believe the demand side of the economic theory you presented has a significant flaw. People will always demand heroin, crack, meth, etc. because it's so highly addictive. If something is addictive enough to inflate demand, price doesn't have nearly as big of an effect. Cigarettes are a perfect example. People can complain about tobacco taxes and a pack of cigarettes hitting $5 or $6 a pack but they still buy them because they need them. Besides, drugs like meth, heroin, etc. are different from things like marijuana. These drugs have the ability to take over lives. You could make meth 50 cents and people will still be stealing the 50 cents to pay for it because they can't hold a steady job. Your experiences dealing with drug addicts may be much different than mine, but from my experience I've never met a casual meth user or casual heroin user. The total costs of those drugs includes dollar cost, health risk, legal risk of possessing them, and legal risk of getting the money to pay for them. It seems to me that your solution only takes out the legal risk of possessing them. That doesn't change the total cost too much in my mind.

The war on drugs is definitely flawed. But I don't think ending the war has any effect on reducing drug use, only prison population.

 

[jsharmon7]

Excuse my ignorance, are they ACTUALLY bath salts or just marketed as such?

Only marketed as such.

 

[Rookie]

So I'm not on any watch list for buying Epsom salt to soothe my raging hemorrhoids.

Good to know.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Never heard of them before this thread

 

[jsharmon7]

Never heard of them before this thread

Do a search for "cathinone" to learn more about the chemistry behind it. My understanding is that "bath salts" are a synthetic cathinone.