The growing epidemic of bath salt usage is exploding into view in Northeastern Pennsylvania according to a March 20th front-page story in the Sunday Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. Kudos to the State Legislators in Hawaii, Michigan, Louisiana, Kentucky, North Dakota and Pennsylvania who have introduced legislation to ban bath salts. Stated in the following article, the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would make synthetic Bath Salts illegal to possess and sell.
“The goal is to keep these chemical substances out of the hands of those who would abuse them,” said Rep. Jerry Stern.
“There is nothing we can do against bath salts unless they become illegal to sell and possess,” said an undercover detective.
In hopes that the rest of the United States will follow their lead, the previously mentioned states are proactively proposing legislation that will ban bath salts.
US Senate bill 409, authored by Senator Charles Schumer, NY would add ingredients in bath salts to the list of controlled substances. The problem with this is that there are 20 million known compounds out there that cannot all be investigated or banned. Designers of the drugs simply change the molecular structure and thus a new chemical is developed.
Is there a way to stay ahead of the curve in combating bath salt abuse?
Should more thought be given to a multi-faceted strategy which includes educating, not only the general public, but specifically adolescents and young adults about the extreme dangers of bath salts?
http://www.timesleader.com/news/The_dirty_business_of_using__lsquo_bath_salts_rsquo__03-20-2011.html
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