Illicit use of bath salts is a serious problem that is growing rapidly in the United States. But because this is such a new trend in substance abuse, there have been few studies conducted about what these drugs are and what health risks they pose to humans. Instead, drug enforcement officials have reflexively taken action after a surge of reports from emergency rooms and urgent care centers nationwide about the deadly effects of abusing bath salts. In fact, bath salt abuse is associated with high occurrences of psychotic episodes, violence and suicide. These types of associations are extremely alarming because evidence shows that physical addiction to bath salts occurs very quickly and is extremely powerful.

Bath salts are exactly what they sound like: powdery, salt-like substances that can be dissolved in bath water as method of relaxation/meditation. But bath salts were never intended to be consumed by humans and in fact most packages of these products are clearly marked "Not for Human Consumption." This means that because the product isn't intended for human consumption it isn't regulated like products that are. Bath salts are perfectly legal in most states and even a child can walk right up to a store counter and purchase them.

But recently people have discovered that a strange but powerful sort of "high" can be obtained by smoking, snorting or injecting bath salts. Bath salts are similar to street drugs cocaine and meth, with the active ingredients in most salts being Cathione, Mephedrone and MDPV. The last two are nearly identical to chemical precursors used to make meth in secret laboratories- precursors that have been banned or placed under strict federal regulation. However, despite the similarities between bath salts and cocaine/meth, the effects produced are vastly different.

Bath salts cause severe hallucinations that are indistinguishable from reality. Unlike other hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD, PCP or psilocybin where the user can still separate reality from the "trip," this is not true of bath salts and people seem to be become psychotically activated by the hallucinations. In fact, a great deal of bath salt users have reported that the "high" associated with these substances is actually terrible in all respects, but also so powerful that a person is compelled to use them again and again.

The psychotic episodes associated with bath salt use are extremely peculiar in nature. Even with limited use, some otherwise perfectly healthy people have committed suicide or violently attacked other people. The confusion felt by most people while under the influence of bath salts is profound: users have cut parts of their skin or appendages off, performed "surgeries" on themselves and otherwise mutilated their own bodies. One recent case indicates that a young man who was high on bath salts shot and killed a police officer, while hospital reports from around the country detail the violent and uncontrollable nature of patients under the influence of bath salts.

All of these issues are all the more concerning when you factor in how addictive these substances seem to be. Despite the fact that they are exceedingly dangerous, do not produce a pleasant high and lead to severe and rapid addiction, the trend to use these drugs continues to rise. Several states have already passed emergency legislation to ban the sale of these substances, but manufacturers have simply countered by changing the chemical composition, much the same as manufacturers of "fake pot" did at the end of 2010.

Of all the drugs currently in use in the US, bath salts appear to be the most dangerous. If you or someone you care about has been using these substances, you need to reach out for help right now, before it's too late.