None — Some teenagers are getting high from products marketed as bath salts, and it's legal.
The White House drug policy director recently released a statement saying the substances "pose a serious threat to the health and well-being of young people."
PDF: White House Drug Policy Director's Release On Bath Salts
"Everybody was just saying, ‘Oh, you know, it's amazing and it's legal,'" said one Charlotte teen who did not want to be identified. "That adrenaline rush -- you feel like you're on top of the world, going as fast as you can."
He said he's bought the powder at various smoke shops, labeled things like Blue Silk and Vanilla Sky. He snorted them, which he said led to nose bleeds, fatigue, anxiety and depression.
"I'd do it on school days, I'd do it on a day and stay up all night and have to go to school the next morning, and, you know, just feel fried at school," he said.
His experience didn't surprise Dr. Anna Dulaney with Carolinas Poison Center.
"It acts very similar to cocaine (but) it lasts longer than cocaine, which is one of the dangers," Dulaney said.
She said the powders are made of the chemicals MDPV and mephedrone, both of which are synthetic stimulants.
Because they're so new, not much is known about them.
"We don't know long-term effects on the human brain," Dulaney said. "Another thing is that we don't know what impurities are in this product, and whether or not the impurities have any toxicity."
The poison center has already received nine reports from emergency rooms about bath salts. One report said someone who snorted salts was "agitated and confused," while another said a patient's heart rate and blood pressure were elevated.
Dulaney said many of the products are made outside the U.S. and shipped in.
Newly-elected state Rep. Craig Horn from Union County said he's already pushing a bill to ban artificial marijuana, or K-2, statewide.
After hearing about this new trend, he told Channel 9 that he will push for another.
"Whether it's bath salts, K-2 or, the unknown yet to come, these things are loaded guns and the bullets been fired," Horn said. "We (have) got to help people get out of the way of them."
That's exactly what the teen who used the salts hopes to accomplish, too.
"All it is is a legal high that's way more dangerous than alcohol or marijuana," he said.
Horn said he is working with another senator to develop a band on bath salts and set a goal for the ban to go into effect by April 1.
Additional Information:
Poison Control Issues Warning On Bath Salts Gov. Bobby Jindal Cracks Down On Bath Salts Fla. AG Bans Fake Bath Salts DEA Drug Analysis of MDPV DEA Spectroscopic Analysis of Cathinone Drugs
Previous Stories: February 1, 2011: Drug Czar Warns Against Taking 'Bath Salts' Drugs January 30, 2011: Schumer Wants Ban On Drug-Like Bath Salts January 22, 2011: Officials: 'Bath Salts' Are Growing Drug Problem
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