A 21-year-old man slashed his throat and ended his life with a gunshot to his head. An 11-year-old boy was found dead after hanging himself in his bedroom. A girl attacked her sleeping mother with a machete.

These are just a few of the alarming stories associated with new synthetic drugs called “bath salts.” Far from your typical bath-enhancing products, these bath salts are intended to be snorted, smoked or injected. According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers and the U.S. Department of Justice, “bath salts” were being sold on the Internet and at gas stations, smoke shops and convenience stores under such street names as
 “Blizzard,” “Cloud Nine” and “Ocean Snow.”

They are typically found as white, light tan or brown powders, and are believed to contain psychoactive chemicals known as mephedrone and/or methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV). MDPV is structurally related to cathinone, an active alkaloid found in the khat plant (a stimulant plant that produces leaves that are chewed much like coca leaves), methamphetamine and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, or “ecstasy”).

MDPV functions as a dopamine-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, producing stimulatory effects on the central nervous system and cardiovascular system. Sympathomimetic reactions are similar to those caused by methamphetamine, ecstasy, and cocaine. 
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