If you are a parent of a teen, listen up since there's a 'new kid on the block' regarding drugs on the street-a devilish concoction called 'Bath Salts'.
Maybe you've already heard of it.
It has made headlines multiple times in the United States due to its creepy and dark side-effects.
It's a new family of drugs containing one or more manmade chemicals related to cathinone which is an amphetamine-like stimulant.
They produce effects very similar to cocaine or heroin.
Unlike some drugs that can be more difficult to obtain, it is readily available! The results of taking bath salts can range from feelings of joy to increased sociability to extreme rage and hallucinations where one's mind completely separates from reality.
Even graphic cases of cannibalism, due to bath salts' effects, have been documented.
What is really astonishing about bath salts is the inability of them showing up on drug tests; and because of that, your teen must admit he or she is using this drug before help and treatment can be administered.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 400 users, on average, are admitted to emergency rooms each month due to Bath Salt consumption which, by the way, involves either snorting, smoking, injecting, eating or mixing with water.
Out of that 400, 37 percent include older teens and young adults in their 20's.
Appearance and Names: Bath salts are not related to 'epsom salts' which are used during bathing and have no drug-like properties.
They appear as brown or white crystalline powder and are intentionally sold under the guise as plant food, jewelry cleaner or phone-screen cleaner.
Unfortunately, they can be purchased online, which is how many teens buy this product.
The substance is also sold in tobacco stores.
Names that are synonymous with bath salts include 'Bloom', 'Cloud Nine', 'Vanilla Sky', 'White Lightening', 'Ivory Wave', 'Pure White' and 'Scarface'.
How The Brain Is Affected: Various ingredients in the substance raise the level of the neurotransmitter, dopamine, which is the main transmitter that makes people feel good when they do something they enjoy.
The bottom line is Bath Salts will raise dopamine so significantly it can be compared to the effects of cocaine, but 10 times stronger! When the brain has had a 'taste' of the substance, it develops an acute dependency on the drug and wants to use the drug again and again.
The stunning addictiveness is nothing short of horrific.
Bath Salts Are A Real Threat: This substance began to aggressively emerge by the end of 2010; and because they are actually legal, they have gained exponential popularity in Europe and the United States.
Some ingredients in Bath Salts have been legally banned but the problem arises when unconscionable marketers simply create newer drugs to replace the banned drugs and embed them into the concoction, thereby evading legal restriction.
This is why it poses a problem in terms of easy-purchasing on-line or from legitimate tobacco shops.
The fact that they are sold under fake names such as 'jewelry cleaner' where the outside label says 'not for human consumption' makes the cracking down on this product extremely challenging.
Parents Must Be Informed: Parents have been given the daunting task of making every attempt to keep their children as far away from damaging or deadly drugs as possible.
They must become informed! The guidance and messages they give their children can have a dramatic impact on the choices their kids make when their parents are not around.