I first saw them a few months ago at a gas station in Nazareth."What do you do with them?" I asked.
"You get high," a lady with no teeth answered.
I'm talking about "bath salts" and "incense," which contain chemicals that mimic cocaine and marijuana. While I was getting my drug (tastykakes), some kids came in and bought a few vials.
According to Lackawanna DA Robert Klein, these products produce an alternative high with very unpleasant results. One local attorney asked merchants to remove these products. "You’re playing with fire, and you’re playing with people’s lives."
Luzerne County DA Jackie Musto has taken things one step further. On Tuesday, she sought and obtained an injunction against eight local merchants after over 100 people were treated at Geisinger Medical Center, and is seeking a County-wide ban on Monday.
Sounds like a good idea here in the Lehigh Valley, don't you think?
This stuff leads to violent behaviors,most commonly self inflicted by the user and sometimes fatal.Cutting and Stabbing are common and all too ofen fatal. It has been around for over a year in the South where it is mostly illegal. We have been seeing it in Philadehia Chster Delware and even Centre County since late last summer
ReplyDeleteI think a statewide Ban is in order and until that happens some boycotting of convenience stores that sell the stuff., becasue they DO know why the are being bought.
If should be federally and statewide banned. If you need bath salts that bad get a script from your doctor.
ReplyDeleteAs it gains popularity elsewhere it is going to have devastating effects, on top of a possible overdose, it won't take long before one of these people hallucinating get killed by the police while being taken into custody.
Yeah. Prohibitions have proven very effective in this country. Let's ban everything - including Tastykakes. Please, someone save us from ourselves!
ReplyDeleteJust found out a guy down the street hanged himself. I support banning rope, or at least requiring a seven-day waiting period and background check to buy the stuff.
ReplyDeleteActually, bans on substances do work. If there were not bans on cigarette sales to minors, I can see now that every gas station would be luring them in.
ReplyDeleteCertainly agree: forget cell phone bans
ReplyDeleteGas stations luring them in? Please.
ReplyDeleteAnon 7:27 is right. Prohibition only hurts law abiding citizens.
Bernie, that your college photo from 1912?
ReplyDeleteLet's face it. These 'bath salts' have no legitimate purpose. They are only marketed as such for legal stealth. Everyone knows they are used to get high. Banning them will not impede law-abiding citizens from walking into Bed Bath&Beyond to buy actual bath salts. If this substance is harming minors, who can't make a responsible decision not to use it, then ban it! At least limit the age to buy it like cigarettes.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like the commonwealth of PA is losing the war on drugs. I have heard that the salts are worse than any drug.
ReplyDeleteThere is so much money spent on law enforcement, drug raids, incarceration, etc....but the problem never seems to stop ever!
I am starting to think that sending people to jail for drug offenses only leaves a job opening for new drug dealers...then the number of dealers multiply at an exponential rate.
I think some other countries actually legalize the stuff, and have designated places where you can use and deal peacefully... Ideas?
Do the ban-happy have any idea how many minors are slaughtered in automobile accidents?
ReplyDeleteI want driving by anyone under the age of 21 banned before we begin to discuss bath salts.
In terms of actual fatalities vs. perceived risk, cars are far more deadly to minors.
So are wars, by the way.
There is a ban on driving under age 16. Under your insane world view, there would be no restrictions on anything and kids would be dropping over. Until the state legislature acts, and they will, I hope LV prosecutors consider what Luzerne county DA Musto did.
ReplyDeleteIt's a whack-a-mole strategy. The next substance is just waiting in the wings. Kids were snorting non-stick cooking spray from baggie a few years ago. Pam is still legal, although it's no longer preferred for intoxicating purposes. What ought to be looked at is why these kids got to this point. Parents want government to parent for them. Wait until it's determined that Hershey kisses can be smoked. That ban will be controversial, and equally useless. Kids who are predisposed to wreck their brains are going to find a way to do it.
ReplyDeleteBernie:
ReplyDeleteJennifer Mann had a bill - HB 176 - that would ban synthetic pot...it passed the House last year but died in the Senate.
She has re-introduced it this year, but it is being held up by the majority party.
Just thought you'd like to know.
We all know that pot makes white women cavort with negroes and jazz musicians. This is the basis of US marijuana law. And get rid of that demon alcohol, too.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately many of you are correct in that the next new high is already around the corner. Maybe we need to look at where the real problem is located. Still having fun.
ReplyDelete"Jennifer Mann had a bill - HB 176 - that would ban synthetic pot..."
ReplyDeleteThanks for that information. It's good to know and is to her credit.
The thing about bath salts is this: there is no possible way to use this product responsibly.
ReplyDeleteIt IS, however, possible to teach a 17 year old how to drive safely. It is possible to drink alchohol responsibly, for most people. It is possible to use SOME drugs that are currently illegal responsibly. (I realize that's debatable, but it's my comment, so it's my opinion.)
Prohibition, in general, is useless. But in the case of known harmful substances, it is the only option for society. I think most rational people can agree that bath salts do not produce anything that can be used responsibly or safely, regardless of the user or the place of use. It's just a matter of time before the law catches up to this reality. Yes, kids will find the next drug to use rather quickly, but that does not mean we should ignore a clear and present danger.
Tobacco products, when used as directed, kill their consumers in far greater numbers than cooking spray or bath salts.
ReplyDeleteWhy are they legal?