DEA Hopes Arrests Put Dent in “Bath Salts” Spread

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has announced the arrest of a major distributor of “bath salts,” recreational designer drugs with significant and dangerous adverse effects. Nine employees of retail shops in Manhattan and Brooklyn that sold the drugs were also arrested. New York State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah issued an immediately effective ban on the sale and distribution of bath salts on May 23.

According to the DEA, companies in India and China are principally responsible for manufacturing and exporting  the synthetic stimulants. Shippers typically mislabel the products to evade detection by law enforcement and sell them via the internet to distributors around the world. Small retailers then sell the drugs online, through traditional distribution methods, or by retail distribution at convenience stores, gas stations, and "head shops."

Read more about the serious problems associated with "bath salts" in Psychiatric News at http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/46/8/8.1.full.