"Bath Salts" and real bath salts

[Lumpy]

So are sellers of actual for-your-bathtub bath salts having any trouble due to the now-ubiquitous name for the illegal drug?

[voltaire]

Originally Posted by Lumpy

So are sellers of actual for-your-bathtub bath salts having any trouble due to the now-ubiquitous name for the illegal drug?

I doubt it, because they are completely different products, with completely different packaging, at completely different price points, sold through completely different venues to completely different customers.

[FatBaldGuy]

More to the point, are some morons going to the store and buying bath salts, hoping to get high on them?

[boytyperanma]

I think it was an NPR story. The interested parties in the legal 'bath salt' products are pretty upset about the recent coverage and are reporting a significant drop in sales citing people's fear they might experience effect attributed to the illegal drug 'bath salts'

It would appear based on their complaints they feel the news media has not been clear the drug and the product are different things and have no association beyond name.

If this resulted in an increase in sales I doubt they'd be saying anything and would just be counting their good fortune selling additional product to wannabe drug addicts.

[IceQube]

Why are these drugs called "bath salts"?

Mind you, the common name had me confused for several months ... were my friends sending me gifts ... or illegal drugs?

[Ambivalid]

White Rush.

[Freudian Slit]

Originally Posted by FatBaldGuy

More to the point, are some morons going to the store and buying bath salts, hoping to get high on them?

I did read this xojane blog post a while ago that featured snorting of actual bath salts...

[voltaire]

Originally Posted by IceQube

Why are these drugs called "bath salts"?

Mind you, the common name had me confused for several months ... were my friends sending me gifts ... or illegal drugs?

They are called that as a fig-leaf cover in order to sell the product, since they are labeled as "not intended for human consumption" even though that IS what they are intended for. The designer drugs contained in them aren't/weren't illegal or regulated, but they would be if they were labeled for human consumption. So they called them bath-salts because they somewhat resemble them, but they could have called them any number of things.

It's similar to the herbal marijuana substitutes that are labeled as either incense or potpourri - as long as the ingredients aren't (yet) regulated and they aren't labeled for human consumption, they can get away with selling the stuff until the laws catch up. (Then they just slightly modify the chemistry to make a new compound that isn't illegal, then rinse and repeat.)

[thelurkinghorror]

Originally Posted by IceQube

Why are these drugs called "bath salts"?

Mind you, the common name had me confused for several months ... were my friends sending me gifts ... or illegal drugs?

It's like synthetic marijuana (or "marijuana") being sold as "incense."

ETA: wasn't "Bliss" the drug from a very heavy handed Captain Planet episode?

[Gukumatz]

Originally Posted by Ambivalid

White Rush.

A refreshingly frank interview. Thanks, I've been curious. Great quote by the way:

[Question]Is there ever a way to actually get ahead of this recreational drug market?

[...]We had a kid recently who said he had dipped his cigarette in liquid rat poison. After he was stabilized we asked him why. He told us that he didn't know if it would cause a buzz, but if it did, he'd be the first. It's hard to get ahead of that.

[Keeve]

Originally Posted by IceQube

Why are these drugs called "bath salts"?

Wikipedia says:

In the UK to avoid being controlled by the Medicines Act, designer drugs such as mephedrone have been described as "bath salts" or "plant food", despite the compounds having no history of being used for these purposes.

But that doesn't really answer the question. Was there some reason to choose this particular name? Or was it randomly chosen, and they might as well have called it "rat poison" or something?

(PS: I get the impression from this thread that these drugs are actually manufactured, labeled, and sold in regular stores, with the "bath salt" label being used to skirt the anti-drug laws. Is that correct? I didn't realize that, and have presumed that it was just another illegal drug sold surreptitiously like other illegal drugs, but they needed a name for it -- like "crack" needed a name -- and they chose "bath salts" for some stupid reason.)

[si_blakely]

Well, people using "bath salts" of both varieties do seem to end up naked ...

Si

[sciurophobic]

So do sellers of bath salts give a reason why they're selling them, since the only real reason is illegitimate?

[lost4life]

Originally Posted by boytyperanma

....It would appear based on their complaints they feel the news media has not been clear the drug and the product are different things and have no association beyond name....

I have to admit, when I first starting hearing news stories about the drugs, I was confused because they just said "Bath Salts"...not "the drug called Bath Salts" or anything to clarify what it was.

So after a disappointing trip to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, I figured things out.

[kayaker]

Originally Posted by sciurophobic

So do sellers of bath salts give a reason why they're selling them, since the only real reason is illegitimate?

Demand?

[sciurophobic]

Originally Posted by kayaker

Demand?

Demand for what, if they claim they're not being sold for human consumption?

[kayaker]

Originally Posted by sciurophobic

Demand for what, if they claim they're not being sold for human consumption?

Demand for a product that is not (yet) illegal.

[enalzi]

Originally Posted by lost4life

I have to admit, when I first starting hearing news stories about the drugs, I was confused because they just said "Bath Salts"...not "the drug called Bath Salts" or anything to clarify what it was.

So after a disappointing trip to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, I figured things out.

I was confused too. I thought people were actually finding some way to use real bath salts to get high.

[typoink]

Originally Posted by sciurophobic

Demand for what, if they claim they're not being sold for human consumption?

I can't speak to bath salts since I've never even seen them sold, but for fake pot "incense," I know they'd keep the pretense that it was been sold as a fragrance. Maybe with a wink and a nod. Despite the fact that the products were 100% useless for this purpose.

[Lionne]

Originally Posted by enalzi

I was confused too. I thought people were actually finding some way to use real bath salts to get high.

Ditto. This thread has fought my ignorance.

[thelurkinghorror]

They also sell glass pipes, and a sign next to them says "for tobacco use only." Riiight. It's best if they have a pot leaf pattern all over them.

You can also see these being sold sometimes, in finer establishments. The key is to throw the rose away before you use it as a crack pipe. And the clerks can claim or pretend that they don't know what they're used for and be okay usually.

[Vinyl Turnip]

Originally Posted by typoink

I can't speak to bath salts since I've never even seen them sold, but for fake pot "incense," I know they'd keep the pretense that it was been sold as a fragrance. Maybe with a wink and a nod. Despite the fact that the products were 100% useless for this purpose.

I believe at least one variety of bath-salt-type drug was being sold as "shoe cleaner." Came across a message board where various aficionados were exchanging tips on which seedy gas stations were still selling this or that brand, complaining that such-and-such brand has disappeared or wasn't as potent anymore, lamenting their inability to stop taking the shit even after losing their jobs/mates/kids/etc., and generally making me weep for mankind.

And to answer the OP's question, there is at least one company that is attempting to publicize the fact that their bath salts are for bathing and not getting high. Whether that clarification ends up helping or hurting their overall sales remains to be seen, I suppose.

[njtt]

Originally Posted by lost4life

I have to admit, when I first starting hearing news stories about the drugs, I was confused because they just said "Bath Salts"...not "the drug called Bath Salts" or anything to clarify what it was.

So after a disappointing trip to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, I figured things out.

Psst.. You should have looked more carefully in the Beyond section.



Actually, I too was quite confused by the stories about "Bath Salts" when they first started appearing in the media.

[Marley23]

Originally Posted by njtt

Actually, I too was quite confused by the stories about "Bath Salts" when they first started appearing in the media.

I hadn't picked up on it until this thread. I understood these were dangerous drugs even though the frenzy of publicity is becoming over the top, but I didn't know the connection to bath salts was entirely bullshit.

[Ambivalid]

Originally Posted by thelurkinghorror

They also sell glass pipes, and a sign next to them says "for tobacco use only." Riiight. It's best if they have a pot leaf pattern all over them.

You can also see these being sold sometimes, in finer establishments. The key is to throw the rose away before you use it as a crack pipe. And the clerks can claim or pretend that they don't know what they're used for and be okay usually.

Haven't most places cracked down on these? I know in Michigan you can't get them anymore and they used to be in every gas station and corner market in town.

[thelurkinghorror]

Which? I see the pipes from time to time, last time a week ago. I haven't seen the roses in awhile but I don't know where to look.

[troubledwater]

Originally Posted by Marley23

I hadn't picked up on it until this thread. I understood these were dangerous drugs even though the frenzy of publicity is becoming over the top, but I didn't know the connection to bath salts was entirely bullshit.

Ha. for confusion, you should have seen my foster daughter when her biological mother was describing her (the mother's) new roommate - "She's clean now, but she used to use basalt."

[robert_columbia]

Originally Posted by troubledwater

Ha. for confusion, you should have seen my foster daughter when her biological mother was describing her (the mother's) new roommate - "She's clean now, but she used to use basalt."

I found these igneous rocks in your dresser drawer. Is there anything you haven't been telling me?

[kayaker]

The sad thing is, there is a relatively benign mood altering plant out there, that if legal, would give many of these people seeking bath salts, etc something safe yet enjoyable to do. Just sayin.

[BigT]

Originally Posted by enalzi

I was confused too. I thought people were actually finding some way to use real bath salts to get high.

While I knew about that, until this thread, I actually thought "incense" was real incense, just a special kind that got you high. I was under the impression that they were just dipping real incense in special chemicals or something.

This makes me a lot less suspicious of that one girl in school who always carried incense around with her--you could smell it was the real thing. Maybe she just stank.

[njtt]

Originally Posted by troubledwater

Ha. for confusion, you should have seen my foster daughter when her biological mother was describing her (the mother's) new roommate - "She's clean now, but she used to use basalt."

Ah, the hard stuff!

[Lumpy]

Originally Posted by njtt

Ah, the hard stuff!

No, that would be Slab.

[Manda JO]

My word. Between quitting smoking and pay-at-the pump, I've only actually walked into a convenience store maybe a dozen times in the last decade. It's like a whole world dropped off my radar. I often forget it still exists: the world didn't change, just which parts I spend time in.

[Vinyl Turnip]

Originally Posted by kayaker

The sad thing is, there is a relatively benign mood altering plant out there, that if legal, would give many of these people seeking bath salts, etc something safe yet enjoyable to do. Just sayin.

That's certainly a legitimate point where the "fake pot" drugs like K2/Spice are concerned, anyway. The easy availability and (until recently) unlikelihood of failing a drug test would seem to be their only advantages over plain old marijuana. (From what I've read, anyway. Haven't had the slightest desire to try them.)

"Bath salts" provide a stimulant and/or hallucinogenic effect, though, so pot doesn't fully substitute. The media has tended to smear the synthetic cannabinoids and "bath salts" together when reporting on them, I guess because they were often sold by the same stores and both are alleged to cause bad reactions in some users, so sometimes it's not clear that they're different types of drugs with very different effects.

[kayaker]

Originally Posted by Vinyl Turnip

"Bath salts" provide a stimulant and/or hallucinogenic effect, though, so pot doesn't fully substitute. .

YMMV, but a lot of people I know/have known "just wanna get high" without regard to specifics. Stimulants, opiates, hallucinogens; the specifics don't matter, it is all in ease of acquisition.

[Vinyl Turnip]

Hmph. Dilettantes.

[cmyk]

I was confused when I first read a report of a guy who was arrested naked, in public after felching a goat. He claimed it was the Bath Salts.

Imagine my disappointment when all I had to show for my debauchery was a pleasent Mint Cucumber odor.

And I still have the damn goat.

[Lumpy]

Originally Posted by cmyk

I was confused when I first read a report of a guy who was arrested naked, in public after felching a goat. He claimed it was the Bath Salts.

Imagine my disappointment when all I had to show for my debauchery was a pleasent Mint Cucumber odor.

And I still have the damn goat.

Have you tried snorting Coke^®?

[An Gadaí]

Mephedrone was apparently so popular here in that brief period when it was legal that drug dealers were burning down head shops. I recall some of the headshops being open until 4am or so and huge queues for them from the clubbing crowds.

[psiekier]

Originally Posted by thelurkinghorror

They also sell glass pipes, and a sign next to them says "for tobacco use only." Riiight. It's best if they have a pot leaf pattern all over them.

In my family, we laugh occasionally, claiming, "it's not a bong! It's a water pipe for fine tobacco!"

It astounds me that such equipment is still sold legally anywhere in the US, much less in head shops that are permanent brick-and-mortar locations with advertising and clientele.

Not too far from my house, there's a nasty-looking convenience store (the dreaded "Dan-D-Mart") that, amongst other things, sells "water pipes", as well as airsoft guns and replica medieval weapons like battle axes and flails.

Who shops there, Hawkman?

[Enderw24]

Originally Posted by Lumpy

So are sellers of actual for-your-bathtub bath salts having any trouble due to the now-ubiquitous name for the illegal drug?

I'd imagine so. When these stories show up, they talk about the crazy things people do when high on bath salts. But I can't recall a single story that had an explanatory line of "this is a new synthetic drug that's being sold under the street name of 'bath salts'." They just talk about bath salts as if everyone's supposed to realize it's not the same thing as what you'd get from a beauty store.

When I first heard about people being high on bath salts, my reaction was "holy crap! How in the hell could bath salts affect you like that." My second reaction was "this is probably just some sort of joke. They're on PCP and everyone's just saying 'bath salts' because it's funny." and it took a few attempts at Googling before I hit upon exactly what this drug was. I imagine most people won't even go through that effort and just think "no more bath salts for me!"

[Ambivalid]

Originally Posted by Enderw24

I imagine most people won't even go through that effort and just think "no more bath salts for me!"

While I don't necessarily disagree with this, I still think it's fucking retarded. C'mon people.

[Dufus]

the news media has not been clear the drug and the product are different things
they just said "Bath Salts"...not "the drug called Bath Salts"
Actually, I too was quite confused by the stories about "Bath Salts" when they first started appearing in the media
I didn't know the connection to bath salts was entirely bullshit.

Just another example of what the news media has become.

[Drunky Smurf]

Originally Posted by psiekier

In my family, we laugh occasionally, claiming, "it's not a bong! It's a water pipe for fine tobacco!"

It astounds me that such equipment is still sold legally anywhere in the US, much less in head shops that are permanent brick-and-mortar locations with advertising and clientele.

Not too far from my house, there's a nasty-looking convenience store (the dreaded "Dan-D-Mart") that, amongst other things, sells "water pipes", as well as airsoft guns and replica medieval weapons like battle axes and flails.

Who shops there, Hawkman?

Ah, come on man, lay off the guy. He already quit smoking, pcp and crack. Let the man have a little weed.

[BubbaDog]

Originally Posted by Ambivalid

While I don't necessarily disagree with this, I still think it's fucking retarded. C'mon people.

Agreed. But human nature tends to flow towards the second rule of life - Never rule out stupidity.

It's the reason places like the Straight Dope and Snopes exist, to help those of us that are skeptics.

[Roadfood]

Originally Posted by njtt

Actually, I too was quite confused by the stories about "Bath Salts" when they first started appearing in the media.

Yup, me also. Yet another example of a major failure of the news media. As a previous poster mentioned, it wouldn't take more than an extra second to say "The drug called bath salts". I did a bunch of googling before being able to find out that people were not using actual bath salts as drugs.

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by Lumpy

Have you tried snorting Coke^®?

Yep, and I fail to see why it's so popular to abuse. The carbonation really fucks up my sinuses.

[deangel3]

Now it seems the drug dealers are making their customers look like morons. Mixing bath salts and selling it as coke or meth. I mean if you cant trust your drug dealer who can you trust huh?

[deangel3]

Originally Posted by boytyperanma

I think it was an NPR story. The interested parties in the legal 'bath salt' products are pretty upset about the recent coverage and are reporting a significant drop in sales citing people's fear they might experience effect attributed to the illegal drug 'bath salts'

It would appear based on their complaints they feel the news media has not been clear the drug and the product are different things and have no association beyond name.

If this resulted in an increase in sales I doubt they'd be saying anything and would just be counting their good fortune selling additional product to wannabe drug addicts.

Drug dealers are now bagging up bath salts and selling to their used to wannabe but now are drug addicts. Representing it as cocain or meth we don't realize we have been taken until it's too late and dealer has our cash. Can't trust anyone these days. LOL