Area convenience stores searched for bath salts, other illegal substances - Zanesville Times Recorder

ZANESVILLE -- Two convenience stores in Zanesville and one in Norwich were served search warrants by the Muskingum County Sheriff's Office on Friday morning in search of illegal bath salts.

Bath salts, K2 and Spice incense became illegal Oct. 18 after the state Legislature in June banned six common ingredients found in bath salts, making them a Schedule I drug. Gov. John Kasich signed the bill in July. The substances were added to the list of illegal hallucinogenic compounds.

Sheriff Matt Lutz said the State Street Exxon Station at State and Main streets, the B.P. Station in Norwich and a convenience store, called Cheap Tobacco, on Maysville Pike and Eppley Avenue were served with warrants between 10:10 and 10:15 a.m. by the sheriff's office and the Zanesville Police Department's combined drug unit.

"We've been investigating these stores and other businesses in the area to see if anyone was continuing to sell bath salts," Lutz said. "We've made undercover purchases from the three we served the warrants on today."

Lutz said a good amount of bath salts were confiscated from the various stores and would be sent to the labs of the Ohio Bureau of Identification and Investigation.

"There were some items that were marked stating they were not made with the ingredients the original bath salts were, but we want to make sure," Lutz said.

Money also was confiscated, Lutz said, but he would not reveal the amount.

The owner of the store on Main Street, Rakesh Rana, of Westerville, could not be reached for comment. Neither could the owner of the other two stores, Rizwan Lahuti, of Zanesville.

No charges will be filed until lab results are returned and the cases are reviewed by Muskingum County Prosecutor Michael Haddox, Lutz said.

Lutz's office has been tracking which locations sell bath salts for a while, even before they became illegal.

Sheriff's deputies began taking a more covert route to enforce the bill, Lutz said, because bath salts and incense usually were kept out of sight behind the counter or in a back room and sellers wouldn't bring them out in front of police or sheriff's deputies.

Possession of bath salts is a fifth-degree felony, which carries a jail sentence of up to a year, and selling the salts is a fourth-degree felony, which carries an 18-month prison sentence or if the drugs are sold near a juvenile or school, a sentence of up to five years, Haddox said.

For the incense, possession is a minor misdemeanor with a $100 fine.

Originally derived from a plant grown in Africa, bath salts are synthetic, and the most dangerous ingredient, MDPV, produces effects similar to cocaine and LSD.

Bath salts also can cause heartbeat irregularity, muscle damage, high blood pressure, kidney failure and metabolic problems such as acidosis.

The American Association of Poison Control Centers reported that in 2010, it received 303 calls regarding bath salts. As of Aug. 31, 2011, that increased to 4,720 calls. Ages of those ingesting the drug ranged from 16 to 60.

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