Oregon Board of Pharmacy Targets Bath Salts (Not Those Ones)

By TIFFANY STUBBERT

On March 23, the Oregon Board of Pharmacy will amend the list of controlled substances for the State of Oregon.

So called "Bath Salts," or methylenedioxypryrovalerone, MDPV, is currently available in a variety of places like smoke or head shops and online. Bath Salts have emerged as a popular drug in the South and Midwest with effects comparable to amphetamine and cocaine. Los Angeles is considering a ban as well.

In recent months there have been 288 calls to poison centers linked to Bath Salts overdoses in the south and Midwest. Consumption of the powdery substance, either through snorting, injecting or smoking leaves users "paranoid, on a very scary drug trip and suicidal," says Dr. Zane Horowitz, the Medical Director of the Poison Center at OHSU.

"This is not Epsom salts. It's like bath salts *wink, wink*. It's not even a salt," says Horowitz. "They're not really bath salts."

Some officials consider 'Salts' tempting for kids because they're legal and readily available online. And with names like Bolivian bath salts and Ivory Wave bath salts, they're easy to hide. According to Dr. Horowitz Bath Salts are just another substance in a long stream of recent drugs created by chemists for users who want to stay legal. Party pills and Oregon Sunshine are similarly derived stimulants created for one purpose, to get high--legally.

"This is a pretty dangerous substance. Probably more dangerous than any other substance we've seen in the last few years." says Horowitz. "It's only legal because the rule-makers haven't caught up with it's toxicity."

Oregon lawmakers, along with many Midwest and Southern states are considering heavily controlling the substance until the Federal Controlled Substances Act takes action. Horowitz says, "As long as a product is marked 'not for human consumption', it's in a gray zone. It doesn't exist anywhere in the law that we can ban."

For more information check out the LA Times and The Washington Post.

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