Bath salts: Police training seminar attempts to deal with latest threat
NORWICH – Following the continued rise of incidents involving “bath salts” – the latest designer drug epidemic to make headlines across the nation – the Norwich City Police Department on Thursday held a two-hour training seminar on the issue, one law enforcement officials are calling an emerging problem in the upstate area.
According to Norwich Police Chief Joseph Angelino, it’s entirely possible that local police agencies and emergency responders have already dealt with cases involving the dangerous synthetic drug. Said Technical Sergeant with the New York State Police Doug Paquette, “This is a huge, huge problem ... we have to take matters into our own hands.”
Added Sidney Police Officer Jan Gorshack, the department’s drug recognition expert, “It’s gong to be this never-ending battle ... it’s a chemical potpourri.”
The synthetic designer drug is often confused with traditional, cosmetic bath salts, said both Paquette and Gorshack, and as fast as legislators pass bans on the substance, its manufacturers are changing its make-up on the molecular level, making it extremely difficult to regulate or even test for. And while the drug is currently regulated under federal law, it is not governed under state law. At this point, it’s not illegal to possess bath salts, and it’s not illegal to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of the drug. Similar in chemical structure to other psychedelic amphetamines such as MDMA – or Ecstasy – bath salts typically contain Methylenedi oxypyrovalerone, or MDPV, Mephedrone or Cathinone. According to the DEA, “the subjective effects induced ... are feelings of empathy, stimulation, alertness, euphoria and awareness of senses.”
Bath salts can be found in gas stations, head and smoke shops and on the Internet, said Paquette, typically with warnings that say “not for human consumption” or “novelty collectors item.”
According to The Washington Post, in January of 2011, “When Neil Brown got high on bath salts, he took his skinning knife and slit his face and stomach repeatedly. Brown survived, but authorities say others haven’t been so lucky after snorting, injecting or smoking powders with such innocuous-sounding names as Ivory Snow, Red Dove and Vanilla Sky.”
Other effects associated with the designer drug, said Paquette, are hallucinations, diminished cognitive ability, sweating, prolonged agitation, acute paranoid psychosis and hypertension.
“Don’t judge a book by the cover,” he added, relaying to those in attendance how quickly a person under the influence of bath salts can become violent and unpredictable. “It could be the calm before the storm.”
Gorshack played several videos for the assembled officers, mental health specialists and emergency responders, pointing out that officers should not rely on their tasers during any incident that could possibly involve bath salts. In one video, the subject being arrested is tasered multiple times with no affect.
“It’s not their fault, it’s the drugs” added Gorshack. “It’s local and it’s around us.”
Reported overdose involving bath salts are on the rise, reported Paquette, with 236 in 2010 and more than 250 in January and February of 2011 alone. The long term effects, he added, are dependence, withdrawal and extreme anxiety. In the Utica area, incidents involving bath salts are now a daily occurrence, with dozens of arrests in the past two months.
The reason for the training seminar, said Angelino, was a simple one.
“I needed to protect my officers.”
According to Norwich Police Chief Joseph Angelino, it’s entirely possible that local police agencies and emergency responders have already dealt with cases involving the dangerous synthetic drug. Said Technical Sergeant with the New York State Police Doug Paquette, “This is a huge, huge problem ... we have to take matters into our own hands.”
Added Sidney Police Officer Jan Gorshack, the department’s drug recognition expert, “It’s gong to be this never-ending battle ... it’s a chemical potpourri.”
The synthetic designer drug is often confused with traditional, cosmetic bath salts, said both Paquette and Gorshack, and as fast as legislators pass bans on the substance, its manufacturers are changing its make-up on the molecular level, making it extremely difficult to regulate or even test for. And while the drug is currently regulated under federal law, it is not governed under state law. At this point, it’s not illegal to possess bath salts, and it’s not illegal to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of the drug. Similar in chemical structure to other psychedelic amphetamines such as MDMA – or Ecstasy – bath salts typically contain Methylenedi oxypyrovalerone, or MDPV, Mephedrone or Cathinone. According to the DEA, “the subjective effects induced ... are feelings of empathy, stimulation, alertness, euphoria and awareness of senses.”
Bath salts can be found in gas stations, head and smoke shops and on the Internet, said Paquette, typically with warnings that say “not for human consumption” or “novelty collectors item.”
According to The Washington Post, in January of 2011, “When Neil Brown got high on bath salts, he took his skinning knife and slit his face and stomach repeatedly. Brown survived, but authorities say others haven’t been so lucky after snorting, injecting or smoking powders with such innocuous-sounding names as Ivory Snow, Red Dove and Vanilla Sky.”
Other effects associated with the designer drug, said Paquette, are hallucinations, diminished cognitive ability, sweating, prolonged agitation, acute paranoid psychosis and hypertension.
“Don’t judge a book by the cover,” he added, relaying to those in attendance how quickly a person under the influence of bath salts can become violent and unpredictable. “It could be the calm before the storm.”
Gorshack played several videos for the assembled officers, mental health specialists and emergency responders, pointing out that officers should not rely on their tasers during any incident that could possibly involve bath salts. In one video, the subject being arrested is tasered multiple times with no affect.
“It’s not their fault, it’s the drugs” added Gorshack. “It’s local and it’s around us.”
Reported overdose involving bath salts are on the rise, reported Paquette, with 236 in 2010 and more than 250 in January and February of 2011 alone. The long term effects, he added, are dependence, withdrawal and extreme anxiety. In the Utica area, incidents involving bath salts are now a daily occurrence, with dozens of arrests in the past two months.
The reason for the training seminar, said Angelino, was a simple one.
“I needed to protect my officers.”
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