Alert!! Bath Salts the New Legal High

I did a couple of bloggs a couple of months ago about the new craze that was going around about kids using commercial bath salts as the new legal high, well getting back on to that subject I came across the article below in a magazine that I subscribe to and I thought many of you may find it interesting, yes I know its American based, but at the end of the day it effects us on this side of the pond as well. So I though I would post it…… I hope you find it informative and eye opening.

The Dangers of Bath Salts

by Stacy Reckard

A Growing Menace

When someone begins a conversation about their favorite bath salts, odds are that you’ll think of the type you drop in the tub for a relaxing soak. You might just be wrong, though. In the United States, law enforcement is warning everyone about a dangerous new product: Bath Salts. These are definitely not the bath salts we’re used to—instead, they are a complex chemical compound containing the
stimulants mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV). Sold as a powder under a variety of names such as “Ivory Wave,” “Purple Wave,” “Red Dove,” “Blue Silk,” “Zoom,” “Bloom,” “Cloud Nine,” “Ocean Snow,” “Lunar Wave,” “Vanilla Sky,” “White Lightning,” “Scarface,” and “Hurricane
Charlie,” this drug has lawmakers everywhere scrambling to pass legislation to prevent it from being sold legally to anyone, including children. The intersection of bath and body products with drug use has happened in the past, as evidenced by the use of lye in the production of Methamphetamine, a powerful central nervous system stimulant. This latest confluence of drugs and bath products is particularly alarming, though, as the product names and packaging of the drug create an environment
of fear and places suspicion on every small business marketing the ‘real’ product intended for the tub. With that in mind, every business owner who markets bath and body products should educate themselves on the issue of this synthetic drug.

Dangerous Reactions

Bath Salts are typically taken through one of three methods—users either administer them orally, by inhalation, or by injection. When inhaled or injected, the outcomes can be deadly. Mephedrone is of particular concern. Research has shown that mephedrone presents a high risk for overdose; when used in combination with MDPV, the chemicals act in a manner similar to cocaine and, like cocaine, cause high abuse and addiction rates. In what seems to be a perfect storm of side effects, Bath Salts also
trigger intense cravings similar to those experienced by methamphetamine users. Unfortunately, Bath Salts is also producing very dangerous reactions in users, many ofwhich have led to alarming actions. According to news reports, a man who inhaled Bath Salts took his skinning knife and slit his face and
stomach repeatedly; in another incident, 21-year-old Dickie Sanders cut his throat and then ended his life with a gunshot. In a recent AP News article, Dr. Richard Sanders, a general practitioner from Covington, La., shared the story of his son’s terrifying experience with the drug. After snorting the Bath Salts, the young man went through three days of intermittent delirium, during which he attempted to take his own life by slitting his throat. The younger Sanders missed major arteries and his father
tried to keep him calm and safe after treating his wound, but was unsuccessful. Waiting until his father fell asleep, Dickie Sanders went into another room and shot himself. In Florida, police pushed for a ban of the drug after several encounters with individuals high on the substance. In Panama City alone,
officers were alerted to the serious side effects by two separate incidents. In one, several officers were needed to subdue a man who tore a radar unit out of a police car with his teeth, while in the other, police reported that a woman attacked her mother with a machete while intoxicated by Bath Salts; she claimed her mother was a monster.

Current Legislation

In light of these extreme reactions, several states have already passed laws which make the product illegal, and it is already banned in the United Kingdom and several other countries, including Israel, Australia and Canada. In the U.S., Vermont has become the latest to ban the product, amending its regulated drug rule to include bath salts. The move was prompted by the spread of the drug into the state, where the Northern New England Poison Center confirmed that by November of 2011 it had
handled nearly 200 cases of bath salt abuse. Of those, 147 were in Maine, 35 in New Hampshire
and 11 in Vermont.

Protecting Your Products

Thankfully, there are several easy steps entrepreneurs can take in order to avoid having legitimate product lines confused with this dangerous drug. The most obvious move might appear to be adding the disclaimer ‘Not For Consumption’ to product labels, yet this label has already been employed by clever drug pushers, who are trying to use it to circumvent the law. Rather than turning to a disclaimer,
those retailing genuine bath salts can ensure they avoid falling on the wrong side of the law by simply including an accurate ingredients listing on their packaging. Of course, this might mean a label redesign, but in the long run, it is in the best interest of both a company and its clients to have accurate ingredient lists.