Bath salts (drug)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Bath salts (also called psychoactive bath salts, PABS

drug prohibition laws.[6]
Additionally, they may be mislabeled as plant food, powdered cleaner, and other such products.

History

Synthetic cathinones such as

Catha edulis (khat), were first synthesised in the 1920s.[8] They remained obscure until the first decade of the 21st century when underground chemists rediscovered them and began to use them in designer drugs, as the compounds were legal in many jurisdictions.[8][9] In 2009 and 2010 there was a significant rise in the use of synthetic cathinones, initially in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe, and subsequently in the United States. Drugs marketed as "bath salts" first came to the attention of authorities in the US in 2010 after reports were made to US poison centers.[7] In Europe, the drugs were predominantly purchased from websites, but in the US they were mainly sold in small independent stores such as gas stations and head shops.[7] In the US, this often made them easier to obtain than cigarettes and alcohol.[7] Bath salts have also been sold online in small packets.[10]

Hundreds of other designer drugs or "legal highs" have been reported, including artificial chemicals such as

methylhexaneamine.[11] These drugs are primarily developed to avoid being controlled by laws against illegal drugs, thus giving them the label designer drugs.[11]

In the US, the number of calls to poison centers concerning "bath salts" rose from 304 in 2010 to 6,138 in 2011, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.[10] Calls related to bath salts then began to decrease; by 2015, the number had declined to 522.[12]

Pharmacology

chemical composition varies widely[7][13] and products labeled with the same name may also contain derivatives of pyrovalerone or pipradrol. In Europe the main synthetic cathinone is mephedrone, whereas in the US MDPV is more common.[7]

Very little is known about how bath salts interact with the brain and how they are

blood brain barrier than amphetamines due to the presence of a beta-keto group that increases the compound's polarity.[8]

Usage

Bath salts can be ingested orally, snorted, smoked, plugged or injected. Bath salts can be detrimental to human health and can potentially cause erratic behavior, hallucinations, and delusions.[16] This is often due to their wakefulness-promoting effect, leading to insomnia.

Interaction with alcohol

Bath salts are often consumed concurrently with alcohol. A 2015 study[17] has investigated the interrelation between mephedrone and alcohol, focusing on psychostimulant and rewarding effects. It showed that alcohol, at low (non-stimulant) doses, significantly enhances the psychostimulant effects of mephedrone. This effect is mediated by an increase in synaptic dopamine, as haloperidol, but not ketanserin, was capable of blocking the potentiation by alcohol.[citation needed]

Subjective effects

Bath salts or monkey dust come in a powdered or crystallised form which can be swallowed, smoked, injected or snorted. Subjective effects are similar to MDMA or cocaine

hallucinations, excessive motor activity, seizures, tachycardia, hypertension, and/or hyperthermia.[22]

Health issues

Bath salt/monkey dust users have reported symptoms that include

Furthermore, there is evidence to support the claim that a psychoactive compound could catalyze psychosis in a person who is already susceptible to psychotic disorders.

Visual symptoms similar to those of stimulant overdoses include dilated pupils, involuntary muscle movement, rapid heartbeat, and high blood pressure.[24][25]

Detection

gas chromatography-mass spectrometry or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.[27][28] Distributors may disguise the drug as everyday substances such as fertilizer or insect repellent.[6][29]

Prevalence

Little is known about how many people use bath salts.

American Association of Poison Control Centers, use of bath salts in the US is thought to have increased significantly between 2010 and 2012.[8] The increase in use is thought to result from their widespread availability, undetectability on many drug tests, and sensationalist media coverage.[13]

User's age tends to range from 15 to 55, with the average age being 28.[24]

Legal status

The drug policy of Canada since Fall 2012 categorizes methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) as a schedule I substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, placing it in the same category as heroin and MDMA.[6] Mephedrone and methylone are already illegal in Canada and most of the United States.[6]

In the United Kingdom, all substituted cathinones were made illegal in April 2010,[30][31] under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, but other designer drugs such as naphyrone appeared soon after[32] and some products described as legal contained illegal compounds.[33] To avoid being controlled by the Medicines Act, designer drugs such as mephedrone have been described as "bath salts", or other misnomers such as "plant food" despite the compounds having no history of being used for these purposes.[23][34][35]

In July 2012,

Federal Analog Act, which forbids selling drugs that are substantially similar to drugs already classified for human use.[38][39][40]

Society and the media

Use of bath salts or monkey dust has spread through social media.[41] Anecdotal reports of the drug increasing its users' pain thresholds while simultaneously giving them increased strength can largely be attributed to the emergency services and frontline NHS staff. Such reports have been picked up, and sensationalised by the regional and tabloid press.[42][43] In the city Stoke-on-Trent,[44] Monkey Dust has been reported to be an entirely new compound, when in fact preparations of MDPV and MDPHP or "bath salts" have been available since the early 2000s.[45] The print press and broadcast media have often used textual framing techniques to report on synthetic cathinone use among society's most vulnerable. Terms like "epidemic", "zombie attack" and more recently "incredible hulk" are often used when describing users.[46] In August 2018, Staffordshire police said they were receiving around ten calls per day regarding Monkey Dust. However, it was not clear whether the incidents actually involved Monkey Dust, or a combination of substances.[47]

Contrary to popular belief, during the investigation of the Miami cannibal attack toxicologists found no trace of the components in bath salts during the autopsy of the attacker.[48] But some scientist doubt the claim that no bath salts were involved in the ordeal and say that due to the meager testing capabilities a bath salt could have gone undetected.[49]

Bath salts or monkey dust were originally a research chemical or legal highs. Users would purchase the chemicals off the internet, ingest them and blog about the effects.[50]

See also

References

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  3. ^ "Monkey dust "epidemic" causing drug users to experience violent hallucinations". Newsweek. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  4. ^ "DEA: Chemicals Used in "Bath Salts" Now Under Federal Control and Regulation". Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Situation Report. Synthetic Cathinones (Bath Salts): An Emerging Domestic Threat" (PDF). United States Department of Justice: National Drug Intelligence Center. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Black, Matthew (25 June 2012). "What are 'bath salts'? A look at Canada's newest illegal drug". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
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  10. ^ a b Dolak, Kevin (5 June 2012). "'Bath Salts': Use of Dangerous Drug Increasing Across U.S." ABC News: Good Morning America. Retrieved 28 December 2013. ( Page will play audio when loaded)
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  12. ^ "Bath Salts". American Association of Poison Control Centers. Archived from the original on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017. In 2012, poison centers took 2,697 calls about exposures to bath salts with the number reducing to 998 in 2013. In 2014, there were 587 exposure calls with the number reducing to 522 in 2015.
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  16. ^ "Europol–EMCDDA Joint Report on a new psychoactive substance: 4-methylmethcathinone (mephedrone)" (PDF). European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. 27 May 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2011.
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  18. ^ "Products - Bath Salts, Plant Food, etc (also Bath Salts; Plant Food; Fertilizer) | Erowid experience vaults". erowid.org. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
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  23. ^ a b Reed, Jim (13 January 2010). "Clubbers are 'turning to new legal high mephedrone'". BBC News. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  24. ^ a b Miller, Michael C. (September 2011). "Ask the Doctor: Bath salts—a new way to get high?". Harvard Mental Health Letter. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
    Q. I heard a news story about people using bath salts to get high. How is that possible? My husband and I have two teenagers. Should we talk with them about this?

    A. The "bath salts" you've heard about have nothing to do with the type that people add to water and use while soaking in a tub. These newer bath salts are designer drugs that circumvent the laws governing controlled or illegal substances, but can be used to get high.

    The active chemicals in these salts—mephedrone, pyrovalerone, or methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV)—all have stimulant properties. They are ...
    (contains additional text)
  25. doi:10.4103/0976-500x.92493 (inactive 15 March 2024).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of March 2024 (link
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  27. ^ Baselt, R. (2017). Disposition of Toxic Drugs and Chemicals in Man (PDF) (11th ed.). Seal Beach, CA: Biomedical Publications. pp. 1280–1282. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
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  30. ^ "BBC – Democracy Live – MPs move to ban mephedrone". BBC News. 7 April 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  31. ^ "The Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) (England, Wales and Scotland) Regulations 2010 No. 1144". Office of Public Sector Information. 16 April 2010. Archived from the original on 5 January 2011.
  32. ^ "NRG-1 'legal high' drug is banned". BBC News. 12 July 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
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  34. ^ "Consideration of the Cathinones" (PDF). Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. 31 March 2010. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  35. ^ "Police warning over 'bubble' drug". BBC News. 20 November 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  36. ^ Haggin, Patience (10 July 2012). "Obama Signs Federal Ban on 'Bath Salt' Drugs". Time. Newsfeed. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  37. ^ "Synthetic Drug Threats". National Conference of State Legislatures. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  38. ^ a b Goodnough, Abby; Zezima, Katie (16 July 2011). "An Alarming New Stimulant, Legal in Many States". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  39. ^ Cumbow, Victoria (6 February 2011). "Synthetic form of cocaine and methamphetamine being packaged as bath salts". The Huntsville Times. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  40. ^ "Reports: Miami 'zombie' attacker may have been using 'bath salts'". CNN. 29 May 2012. Archived from the original on 25 March 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  41. ISSN 0261-3077
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  42. ^ Daly, Max; Clifton, Jamie (16 August 2018). "The Truth About 'Monkey Dust', UK Media's Latest Drug Obsession". Vice. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
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  44. ^ Davies, Ruby (20 November 2018). "Monkey dust couple's warning before setting their house on fire". stokesentinel. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
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  47. ^ Page, Sarah (6 September 2018). "Monkey Dust mayhem: the English city reportedly at the centre of a drug-fuelled 'epidemic'". The Conversation. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  48. ^ Laboy, Suzette (27 June 2012). "Tests find only marijuana in face-chewer's system". The Boston Globe. Associated Press.
  49. ^ "Causeway Cannibal: Toxicology reports say Rudy Eugene was not on bath salts, but not everyone believes them". Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 20 August 2012. Archived from the original on 20 August 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
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