When you think of the word "drug" what comes to mind? Probably marijuana, cocaine, lsd, prescriptions but what about bath salts? When I first heard stories about people on bath salts my reaction was you have to be kidding right, but no first popping onto the radar of the DEA and poison control in 2010, this product is causing quite a stir in the United States. Mark Ryan from the LA poison control says in an interview on the Dr. Oz television show "that he has never seen a drug that has caused the problem as quickly and severely as this". Making local and national headlines as the new designer drug that is completely legal, for now at least, and very dangerous. It doesn't stop people from purchasing it and snorting, ingesting, injecting …show more content…

Florida put an emergency ban on the sale and possession of bath salts, causing store owners to take the thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise of off the shelves. It might not last long, because of the overnight ban store owners are furious that they had to cover the cost of all the product that they ordered. The poison control in Florida is still getting calls even with the ban in place. Although a nationwide ban should be put into effect states including Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi have already passed a law prohibiting the sale or use of synthetic drugs, and at least 20 others have something in the process. States and even counties had to take matters into their own hands because the process to restrict these special chemicals with the United States government and DEA included monitoring the abuse habits, and could potentionally take years. Pennsylvania, my current state has already signed a bill making the use and sale a criminal offense. August 23, 2011, just over a month away from not being able to be sold in stores, a small corner store near my home is still selling many bags. When I asked about what he will do with all the product he has he said “this stuff is flying off the shelves, I am still ordering it for now”. It has defiantly hit hard here with a lot of Lebanon county resistant’s going to the hospital because they are afraid of dying. Looking at