Bath Salts – Designer Drugs Or Harmless Natural Ingredients?
Bath salts have been a favorite group of herbal designer drugs for centuries. The name comes from cases where the herbs were disguised as bath salt. The bath salt, crystals, or powders most often look like Epsom salts, yet are different chemically.
This became the “in” thing to do for many in the bath salts business. As it became known that bath salt was made legal again, there was a major surge in the manufacture and distribution of the product. It wasn’t long before the availability of the drugs was completely controlled by a small number of highly organized and politically influential organizations. MDPV, a derivative bath salt from India, was the first drug made illegal in this country, according to the Controlled Substances Act of 1986. Other derivative drugs followed, including MDMA (ecstasy) and LSD. All these substances were made illegal in the United States under the provisions of the Controlled Substances Act.
The problem with bath salts is not the chemical makeup of the substance itself, but the effects of continued use. People who use bath salts regularly tend to experience a range of physical reactions. Many of these reactions are dangerous and even deadly. Often times bath salt addiction leads to severe depression, leading to suicide. Unfortunately, most bath salt users don’t recognize that they have a problem – and often times, family and friends don’t notice either.
When a bath salt user becomes addicted, the body experiences a range of physical and psychological symptoms. First, the user begins to notice physical symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, sweating, dizziness, heart palpitations, and fatigue. Users then may experience psychological symptoms like confusion, anger, frustration, anxiety, irritability, and hallucinations. If a bath salt addict continues to use the substance, their symptoms can get worse and may result in death from high blood pressure, heart failure, stroke, panic attacks, or even an overdose. Unfortunately, bath salt is often taken for weeks or months prior to realizing the full effects.
Signs of possible bath salt addiction include a constant feeling of “high” or euphoria. Also, bath salts often make the individual feel wired and hyper. This can lead to the person experiencing these symptoms to repeatedly consider suicide. Additionally, the drug can often make insomnia worse. Individuals with a history of depression or having anxiety disorders are at a greater risk of developing a substance abuse problem, especially if they take these drugs on a regular basis.
Today, bath salts and other synthetic psychoactive drugs are often looked upon as recreational drugs. This has resulted in the over-medicalization of society and has caused an increase in drug use among children, teens, and adults. The FDA has even slapped the name “bath salts” on products labeling them as “bath salts,” “synthetic narcotics,” and “bath lotions.”
Although bath salts fall under the heading of “designer drugs,” they are still illegal to sell. They are also closely held by law enforcement, which has resulted in more dangerous drug recipes being created. This has been an ongoing problem that has not been able to be solved. In fact, bath salts are probably more popular than designer drugs at this point in time and continue to be a leading cause of unintentional death across the United States. The bath salt trend has also gotten so bad that local school districts have banned them from being used in their facilities.
As synthetic drugs become more widely available across the country, bath salts will likely become the next victim of the bath salts explosion. As a bath salt addict, it is important to know your drug of choice and understand how it affects your body. If you want to quit bath salt, do it today. Prescription drug abuse does not have to become another generation’s version of crack cocaine or meth abuse. There are effective treatments that can help you get off of bath salts and into a drug-free world.