Bath salts are consumed in a number of ways, either by mouth, inhalation, or injection. SAMHSA found that bath salts usage can cause:
- Heart and Blood Vessel Problems
- Depression
- Suicidal Thoughts
- Psychosis
- Death
The SAMHSA report showed that 33 percent of these hospital visits involved only bath salts. 15 percent of patients had bath salts as well as marijuana or synthetic marijuana in their system, and 52 percent of patients had other drugs in conjunction with “bath salts” in their blood.
“Although bath salts drugs are sometimes claimed to be ‘legal highs’ or are promoted with labels to mask their real purpose, they can be extremely dangerous when used,” Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, Chief Medical Officer of SAMHSA, said in a news release.
Almost 2.5 million U.S. emergency department visits involved drug misuse or abuse in 2011.