The Michigan Department of Community Health says a new, dangerous drug is making its way through the state. Users call it "bath salts," but it's a chemical mixture that officials say produces dangerous highs.
David Wade directs the division of Environmental Health at the Department of Community Health. He says people ingest the chemicals simply to get high -- these drugs have no legitimate use, medical or otherwise.
"And in fact, they are derivatives of chemicals that are already controlled substances. These chemicals are derivatives of compounds that are already illegal, and because they resemble parent compounds that are already illegal, they themselves are illegal, as well."
Wade says the drugs cause dizziness and paranoid delusions.
"Most significantly, they appear to be hyper-anxious, hyper-vigilant, very paranoid; they'll describe a number of hallucinations. And the hallucinations are very, very disturbing, and again, all tend to be similar, in that they're being pursued by something bad: a devil, a demon, an enemy combatant. They all sort of uniformly describe being pursued by something bad."
He says although the mixtures are called "bath salts," they're in no way related to actual Epsom salts or similar products. Wade says that's a misnomer, meant to camouflage the chemicals' real use.
Agencies are moving against these drugs, according to Wade.
"The Marquette County Health Department issued an emergency rule, citing imminent public health danger, as a result of these products, collectively known as bath salts, and went to the one supplier that they knew of in the area, and were able to confiscate all of the material."
Wade says he expects other health departments and law enforcement agencies across the state to follow suit in the coming weeks.
Wade says cases began appearing in Michigan within the last several weeks, having been first reported in Louisiana and Florida. He says one death in Michigan could be potentially related to the drugs.
Officials say it's not yet clear who produces the chemicals.
David Wade directs the division of Environmental Health at the Department of Community Health. He says people ingest the chemicals simply to get high -- these drugs have no legitimate use, medical or otherwise.
"And in fact, they are derivatives of chemicals that are already controlled substances. These chemicals are derivatives of compounds that are already illegal, and because they resemble parent compounds that are already illegal, they themselves are illegal, as well."
Wade says the drugs cause dizziness and paranoid delusions.
"Most significantly, they appear to be hyper-anxious, hyper-vigilant, very paranoid; they'll describe a number of hallucinations. And the hallucinations are very, very disturbing, and again, all tend to be similar, in that they're being pursued by something bad: a devil, a demon, an enemy combatant. They all sort of uniformly describe being pursued by something bad."
He says although the mixtures are called "bath salts," they're in no way related to actual Epsom salts or similar products. Wade says that's a misnomer, meant to camouflage the chemicals' real use.
Agencies are moving against these drugs, according to Wade.
"The Marquette County Health Department issued an emergency rule, citing imminent public health danger, as a result of these products, collectively known as bath salts, and went to the one supplier that they knew of in the area, and were able to confiscate all of the material."
Wade says he expects other health departments and law enforcement agencies across the state to follow suit in the coming weeks.
Wade says cases began appearing in Michigan within the last several weeks, having been first reported in Louisiana and Florida. He says one death in Michigan could be potentially related to the drugs.
Officials say it's not yet clear who produces the chemicals.