Phrases like “Ivory Snow,” “Vanilla Sky” and “Aura” may sound blissful and innocent, but these words are actually names of new, dangerous – and legal – drugs masking themselves as “bath salts.”
While these baths salts were relatively unheard of just a few years ago, use of this substance has been on the rise, generating concern from agencies such as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Bath salts are generally sold online and in smoke shops in packets that are labeled with warnings, such as “not for human consumption.”
However, there have been several reports from around the country of people who have smoked, snorted, ingested or injected this substance, and have suffered effects similar to those that come after using illegal drugs such as cocaine or methamphetamine.
These reactions include physical symptoms such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, and psychological symptoms such as delusions and paranoia.
So far, there have been no reports to the DEA about use of bath salts in Arizona, DEA spokeswoman Ramona Sanchez said.
But Sanchez said the drug is “a very important concern” for the agency and that she has heard of a spike in emergency room visits due to its use.
In some of these emergency room visits, patients who were admitted after using bath salts were extremely agitated, and wouldn’t respond to traditional sedatives, Sanchez said.
The reason why this substance is so dangerous is because it contains synthetic drugs, mephedrone or methylenedioxypyrovalerone, which are chemically related to illegal substances, Sanchez said.
“It’s a terrifying trend because you have no idea what chemicals were used in formulating that drug,” she said. “They’re anything but blissful.”
Mephedrone and MDPV have both been put on the DEA’s “Drugs and Chemicals of Concern” list, and possession and use of them can be federally prosecuted if they were sold for human consumption under the Federal Analog Act.
Because bath salts are labeled as not for human consumption, they are able to skirt around the law, Sanchez said.
The DEA is looking into whether bath salts should be banned federally. Sanchez also said several states have outlawed the substance.
In Arizona, the substance is still legal, but officials have put together proposed legislation that would prohibit the sale of drugs with compounds such as mephedrone and MDPV.
“The DEA does applaud those states that have taken steps to prohibit the use of these drugs,” Sanchez said.
Reach the reporter at katherine.torres@asu.edu
