Zombie Attacks, Cannibalism and Bath Salts

It’s not often I am rendered speechless, but the multiple recent reports of cannibalism brought on by psychotic episodes caused by bath salts have me absolutely baffled.

Just when you think the world can’t get any weirder, apparently cannibalism is on the rise these days and we have the very innocently named Bath Salts to blame. No, this is not the script for a new horror movie sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, I promise.

Just in case you weren’t shocked enough by the man that chewed off an estimated 80 percent of a homeless man’s face in Miami a few weeks ago, we’re now confronted  with a similar story this week about a Louisiana man biting a hole in his neighbour’s cheek over a domestic dispute. Were these flesh-crazed men on some drug induced rampage? Yes. Was it crack cocaine, PCP, or LSD? No, it seems the cannibalism causing culprit is the king of all drug cocktails: bath salts. 

What?

Let’s back up a bit. Oddly enough, these so called Bath Salts aren’t your everyday soak-in-the-tub effervescent bath salts. This product is actually an amphetamine cocktail that is often deceptively labelled as bath salts, plant food or even insect repellent in order to be available for retail sale. In reality, Bath Salts contain a mixture of amphetamine-type stimulants, such as Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), mephedrone, and pyrovalerone. Normally, users smoke or inject the drug in order to get an amphetamine high, but they end up in what can only be considered a manic, “zombie-like” state.

While the word stimulant could refer to something as innocent as a can of soda, these salts actually provoke a myriad of severe reactions ranging from fits of erratic behaviour and aggression to psychotic delusions, which is thought to be the case in these recent cannibalism events. So, yeah, this is a huge, huge problem.

These Bath Salts have been popping up in Canada for years, but worldwide usage is skyrocketing, which has a lot of governments and law agencies on edge. While the drug components have individually been banned in the United States and other countries, Canada has yet to ban the product, but does have a proposal in the works to ban MDPV in early fall.

Early fall may not come early enough for those of us who are completely horrified by these stories. How can something so absolutely dangerous be so readily available to everyone, even minors? Time is of the essence in this matter mainly because of the ease of which this drug can be purchased and the current media craze over these bizarre acts of violence. With this incredible amount of media coverage on the effects of Bath Salts, I worry that we are simply piquing our youths’ interest and giving them a road map to this cheap and easy-to-buy drug du jour.

So, we need to react to this now, because in case you haven’t noticed:

This drug is causing CANNABALISM!

Until next time,

Peace, love and vitaminc C