title: Bath salts: they are not what you think.
abstract: Psychoactive bath salts are a relatively new group of designer drugs sold as tablets, capsules, or powder and pur-chased in places such as tobacco and convenience stores, gas stations, head shops, and the Internet. Bath salts are stimulant agents that mimic cocaine,lysergic acid diethylamide, methamphetamine, or methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy). The most common bath salts are the cathinone derivatives 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone(MDPV), 4-methylmethcathinone(mephedrone), and 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylcathinone (methylone). The drugs cause intense stimulation, eu-phoria, elevated mood, and a pleasurable "rush" Tachycardia, hypertension,peripheral constriction, chest pain, hallucinations, paranoia, erratic behavior,inattention, lack of memory of substance use, and psychosis have been observed in those who have used bath salts. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration recently exercised an emergency authority to name three key ingredients in bath salts as Schedule I, thereby making them illegal to possess or sell in the United States. Nursing implications related to both clinical and educational settings are discussed.
authors.affiliation: La Salle University, Philadelphia, PA, USA. wieland@lasalle.edu
authors.forename: Diane M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Wieland
authors.forename: Margaret J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Halter
authors.forename: Ciara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Levine
mesh_terms: D052117:Benzodioxoles / Q000633:toxicity; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000633:toxicity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015198:Designer Drugs / Q000633:toxicity; D004335:Drug and Narcotic Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000633:toxicity; D008297:Male; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000633:toxicity; D008875:Middle Aged; D010259:Paranoid Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000451:nursing; D011605:Psychoses, Substance-Induced / Q000451:nursing; D011759:Pyrrolidines / Q000633:toxicity; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000451:nursing; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing*; D000094982:Synthetic Cathinone
chemical_list: D052117:Benzodioxoles; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D015198:Designer Drugs; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D011759:Pyrrolidines; D008694:Methamphetamine; C548233:mephedrone; C400939:methylone; D000094982:Synthetic Cathinone