Broward Passes Ban On Bath Salts
FT. LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Broward County commissioners have officially banned the sale or display of bath salts and synthetic marijuana.
Bath salts are a toxic cocktail of stimulants Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), mephedrone, and pyrovalerone. The Drug Enforcement Agency groups bath salts with mescaline and ephedrine, while dealers market the drug as a replacement for cocaine or a synthetic form of the hallucinogen LSD, according to CNN.
Even though these products carry labels that say "unfit for human consumption" they are often ingested to produce a feeling of intoxication similar to the effects of controlled substances illegal under federal and Florida law.
Bath salts can be inhaled, smoked, or digested and have names like Blue Silk, Hurricane Charley and Ivory Snow.
The American Association of Poison Control Centers has noticed a sharp increase in calls related to these products. Calls regarding exposure to bath salts rose from 304 calls in 2010 to 6,100 in 2011. Calls regarding synthetic marijuana products rose from 2,906 in 2010 to nearly 7,000 in 2011.
The newly amended Broward County ordinance banning these products is applicable countywide. Any person found in violation of the ordinance faces a fine not to exceed $500 or a jail term of up to 60 days or both.
