
Bath salts or synthetic cathinones are drugs composed of one or more man-made chemicals related to cathinone, a stimulant found in the “khat” plant, a native of Southern Arabia and East Africa. Much higher in potency than its natural counterpart, bath salts are popularly marketed as herbs, jewelry cleanser, phone screen cleaner, and plant food to evade the law.
Similar in chemical composition to amphetamines, methamphetamines and ecstasy, bath salts are available as a brown or white crystalline powder. Also known as “Vanilla Sky”, “Bloom”, “Scarface”, “Flakka”, and “White Lightening”, these can be snorted, swallowed, inhaled or injected, with snorting and injecting being the most harmful.
The use of bath salts is relatively recent in the American drug scene with the first reported use appearing in 2009. As it increases the body temperature causing people to remove their clothes, it is used to lace club drugs like ecstasy and majorly consumed at raves and other social parties and gatherings.
Bath salts are extremely dangerous as they are a motley of harmful chemicals. As there is no set formula to produce these, the product varies from manufacturer to manufacturer in terms of potency, texture and expected effects.