Bath salts are a type of designer drug that contains man-made chemicals that increase brain and central nervous system activity in much the same way as drugs like amphetamines or MDMA (Ecstasy) . They are often sold as a white or off-white powder, mostly in small plastic or foil packages, and are usually snorted (sniffed up a nostril), but they can also be swallowed, smoked, or mixed with a liquid and injected with a syringe. Bath salts have many street names, including bloom, cloud nine, flakka, scarface, vanilla sky, and white lightning.
Bath salts can cause users to have an out-of-body experience, elated mood, or feel delirious. These effects can last up to 3–4 hours. Other short-term effects include agitation and irritability, insomnia, dizziness, panic attacks, depression, suicidal thoughts, paranoia, delusions and hallucinations, distorted sense of reality, decreased ability to think clearly, mood disturbances, and psychosis. Physical effects of bath salts include decreased muscle and body control. Bath salts have caused a number of deaths and have been blamed for a handful of suicides and murders.
The most commonly reported ingredient in bath salts is methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), although other stimulants may be present, such as mephedrone and methylone). The chemical composition of bath salts varies widely, and products labeled with the same name may also contain derivatives of pyrovalerone or pipradrol). Bath salts are often marketed as “bath salts,” “research chemicals,” “plant food,” “glass cleaner,” and labeled “not for human consumption,” in order to circumvent application of the Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act).
In summary, bath salts are a dangerous type of designer drug that contain man-made chemicals that increase brain and central nervous system activity. They are often sold as a white or off-white powder, mostly in small plastic or foil packages, and can be snorted, swallowed, smoked, or injected. Bath salts have many street names and can cause a range of short-term and long-term physical and psychological effects. The chemical composition of bath salts varies widely, and they are often marketed as something other than a drug to circumvent drug prohibition laws.
