Alright, so I have to admit that even after 19 years of sobriety, I am still amazed at what people (teens in this case) will do to get high. I don’t mean the lengths they will go to obtain their drug of choice, but more the substances they will use to get high. Bath Salts. Yes, bath salts. Not the type you use in your home, because those don’t actually get you high, but a product called Ivory Wave which is sold as bath salts. I just like how mephedrone was sold as plant food. Ivory Wave contains MDPV (Methylenedioxypyrovalerone) and other stimulant drugs.
So, bath salts – dangerous drugs – are sold with a sort of a ‘wink and nod’ to people who want to get a ‘legal high.’ Fortunately, the DEA (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration invoked their emergency authority because, it’s ‘necessary to protect the public from the imminent hazard posed by these dangerous chemicals.” Unfortunately though, the action will not take place for another 30 days, which is during the second week of October 2011. Once the action takes place it will be in force for 1 year, with a possibility of extension for another 6 months.
Why? Well, it gives the Department of Health and Human Services time to get the groundwork to make it a permanent ban.
What are the drugs in Bath Salts?
They are now to be declared to be Schedule I substances, which is the most restricted.
- Mephedrone (methylmethcathinone, also known as M-Cat, Meow, 4-MMC, or Bubbles)
- Methylone (methylenedioxymethcathinone, also known as bk-MDMA, M1, or Explosion), and
- Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV, also known as NRG-1)
Bath Salts Drugs are Untested
Mephedrone and methylone are synthetic chemical derivatives of the psychedelic herb khat. All three of the newly banned drugs share properties of stimulants, such as methamphetamine, and psychedelics (or empathogens), such as ecstasy. Users of these drugs are reported to compulsively seek repeated doses.
None of these drugs has been tested in humans. Unlike drugs approved for human consumption, none is made under an open and controlled manufacturing process. Users often do not know which drug they actually are taking — making it impossible to control dosage, which differs drastically from drug to drug.
BIO
Recovery Rob is a 47-year-old man who has more than nineteen years of sobriety, whose drugs of choice at one time were alcohol and drugs, and he has worked in and around the field of addiction for more than 20 years. Recovery Rob is a professional writer who has published two novels and is currently working on his third. He has been writing and working as Pat Moore Foundation’s premiere blogger and content writer, which helps keeps Pat Moore Foundation’s addiction and recovery blog top-rated.