According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), bath salts are the latest dangerous drug used by young people to get high. The drug is sold online, under a variety of pseudonyms, including ivory wave, purple wave, red dove, ocean snow, white lightning, Scarface, zoom, bloom, and vanilla sky. Although bath salts are relatively new to the drug addiction and drug abuse scene, NIDA is unsure as to the long and short-term effects of the dangerous powers. Thus far, the drug appears to extremely dangerous – even unpredictable.
NIDA isn’t completely sure what chemicals make up bath salts, but it believes that the drug contains various amphetamine-like ingredients. Generally speaking, these types of drugs are administered orally or via injection. According to researchers in the United Kingdom, the drug carries a high potential for overdose, making it extremely dangerous. Like cocaine, bath salts are used to simulant the user’s brain. Like meth users, individuals under the influence of bath salts seem to experience severe cravings, and reports from foreign countries indicate that they are highly addictive.
Besides addiction, bath salts carry a variety of other adverse side effects. Because abusing bath salts is a recent fad, users know little about the drug and are more likely to overdose or hurt themselves while under its influence. In the United States, bath salts have been linked to a multitude of emergency room visits and injuries. ER doctors and the United States poison control centers believe that ingesting or snorting the drug may cause chest pain, extremely high blood pressure, and other side effects. Last year, 251 calls regarding bath salts were made to poison control centers in a period of only two months.
For now, NIDA plans to continue monitoring the drug. Because so little is known about bath salts, it is difficult to educate people about it or treat them effectively. Until further developments are made, NIDA will continue to inform the general public of their findings and keep people aware of the dangerous nature of the drug. At the firm, we are highly skilled in representing all types of drug-related criminal cases. Bath salts and other illegal drugs are dangerous, but convicting an innocent person of a crime they didn’t commit is wrong, too.
If you’ve been arrested for a crime connected to bath salts, call an attorney from Okabe & Haushalter today. We are ready and will to stand up for your rights in court and fight for your freedom. At the firm, we are experienced in all areas of criminal defense, including murder, public corruption, sex crimes and drug crimes. Let us put our experience to work for you.
