Gil Kerlikowske, the White House Drug Czar and past Chief of Seattle Police Department, is warning about a new and dangerous drug on the market that is sending hundreds of people to the hospital, and may have claimed its first death. The drug is innocuously labeled as “bath salts” and can be purchased in convenience stores and online.
The drugs are labeled with names like “Purple Wave” and “Ivory Wave,” but are also sold under a variety of other names. Just in the first month of this year, the American Association of Poison Control Centers have received 251 calls, compared with 236 calls in all of 2010.
These “bath salts” consist of synthetic stimulants MDPV, or mephedrone and 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone. The Food and Drug Administration has not approved these drugs for human consumption. When ingested, the chemicals are said to mimic the affect of cocaine, ecstasy and LSD.
People who have used this drug report agitation, extreme paranoia, delusions, increased heart rate, chest pains and high blood pressure. Rusty Payne from the DEA says that “Just because something is not illegal does not mean it is safe.”
Thus far, several states are considering legislation to ban the products. Senator Charles Schumer of New York has created a bill that would add these chemicals to the list of federally controlled substances.