" bath salts " (also called "psychoactive bath salts" or "PABS" ) is the term used to describe a number of recreational recreational drugs. This name comes from examples where medicines are sold by masquerading as true bath salts. White powders, granules, or crystals often resemble true bath salts like Epsom salts, but are very different chemically. The drug package often states "not for human consumption" in an effort to avoid drug banning laws. Recreational drugs are similarly disguised as plant foods, hookah cleansers, and other products.
Video Bath salts (drug)
History
Synthetic Cathinones such as mephedrone, chemically similar to cathinone, naturally found in the Catha edulis factory, were first synthesized in the 1920s. They remain unclear until the first decade of the 21st century, when underground chemists rediscover them and start using them in designer medicines, because they are legal in many jurisdictions. In 2009 and 2010 there was a significant increase in the misuse of synthetic cathinones, initially in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe, and later in the United States. Drugs marketed as "bath salts" first came to the attention of US authorities in 2010 after reports were made to US poison centers. In Europe, most medicines are bought from websites, but in the US they are mainly sold in small independent stores such as gas stations and head stores. In the US, this often makes them easier to get than cigarettes and alcohol. Bath salts have also been sold online in small packages.
Hundreds of other designer or "legal high" drugs have been reported, including artificial chemicals such as synthetic marijuana and semi-synthetic substances such as methylhexaneamine. These drugs are mainly developed to avoid being controlled by laws against illegal drugs, thus giving them the label of designer medicine.
In the US, the number of calls to poison centers on "bath salts" rose from 304 in 2010 to 6,138 in 2011, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers. The call associated with bath salts then begins to diminish; by 2015, that number decreased to 522.
Maps Bath salts (drug)
Pharmacology
Pharmacologically, bath salts usually contain cathinone, usually methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), methylone or mephedrone; however, their chemical composition varies greatly 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 MDPV AS is more common.
Very little is known about how bath salts interact with the brain and how they are metabolized by the body. Scientists tend to believe that bath salts have strong addictive potential and can increase user tolerance. They are similar to amphetamines that cause stimulant effects by increasing the concentration of monoamines such as dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine in synapses. They are generally less able to cross the blood brain barrier than amphetamines because of the beta-keto group that increases the polarity of the compound.
Usage
Bath salts can be ingested, snorted, smoked, or injected. Injection is not recommended because these products rarely include ingredients, let alone doses. Bath salts are known to damage human health and have been known to cause erratic behavior, hallucinations, and delusions.
Health issues
Users of bath salts have reported symptoms including headaches, heart palpitations, nausea, and cold fingers. Hallucinations, paranoia and panic attacks have also been reported, and news media have reported associations with violent behavior, heart attacks, kidney failure, liver failure, suicide, increased tolerance for pain, dehydration, and damage to skeletal muscle tissue.
Contrary to popular belief, researchers found no link to bath salts in cannibal attacks in Miami.
Visual symptoms similar to overdose of stimulants include dilated pupils, unconscious muscle movement, rapid heartbeat, and high blood pressure.
Interactions with alcohol
Bath salts are very often consumed in conjunction with alcohol. A 2015 study has investigated the interrelation between mephedrone and alcohol, with a focus on psychostimulatory and beneficial effects. This suggests that alcohol, at low doses (non-stimulants), significantly increases the psychostimulant effect of mephedrone. This effect is mediated by increased synaptic dopamine, such as haloperidol, but not ketanserin, capable of blocking potentiation by alcohol.
Detect
MDPV can not be detected by detection dogs and will not be found in typical urinalysis, although they can be detected in urine and hair analysis using gas chromatographic mass spectrometry. Distributors can disguise the drug as a daily substance such as fertilizer or mosquito repellent.
Prevalence
Little is known about how many people use bath salts. In the UK, mephedrone, commonly known as MCAT, is the fourth most common drug used among nightclub visitors after marijuana, MDMA and cocaine. Based on reports to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, the use of bath salts in the US is estimated to have increased significantly between 2010 and 2011. Increased use is thought to be due to widespread availability, undetectable on many drug tests, and sensational media coverage.
Users tend to range from ages 15 to 55 with an average age of 28 years.
Legal status
Canada's drug policy since the fall of 2012 categorizes methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) as the substance of schedule I under Drug and Controlled Substances Act, placing it in the same category as heroin and MDMA. Mephedrone and methylone have been illegal in Canada and most of the United States.
In the United Kingdom, all substituted cathinones were illegally made in April 2010, under the Drug Abuse Act 1971, but other designer drugs such as naphyrone emerged shortly thereafter and some products that were described as legal contained illegal compounds. To avoid being controlled by the Drug Act, designers drugs such as mephedrone have been described as "bath salts", or other misnomers such as "plant foods" even though historically devoid compounds are used for this purpose.
In July 2012, US federal drug policy was changed to ban drugs commonly found in bath salts. Before that, the bath salts were illegal in at least 41 countries. Before the compounds are made illegal, mephedrone, methylone, and MDPV are marketed as bath salts. The name and label "bath salt" which says "not for human consumption" is an attempt to circumvent the Federal Analog Act, which prohibits the sale of drugs that are substantially similar to those drugs already classified for human use.
See also
- Illegal drug trafficking
- recreational drug use
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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