In addition to being introduced to Am-Hi-Co, one of the practical upshots of the last two weeks’ blogs has been an exposure to the expansive and complicated world of so-called “bath salts”. This whole subset of the legal high market is not something I’d really previously been aware of, nor is it something I was likely to explore on my own. As I mentioned last week, bath salts and that sort of thing aren’t really my scene. Consider cocaine and similar substances that these products are alleged to be analogous to. I know people who have experienced a broad spectrum of intoxicants, and they all say that, while potentially quite amazing, the “synthetic” end of things can be pretty dicey. Take cocaine, specifically. I’ve heard two things consistently. I’ve heard that good, trustworthy stuff that isn’t going to melt your face off is hard to come by, and that if you can manage to get a hold of a decent supply, it’s the best drug you should never do as it can very easily become a tough to kick habit, what with everything that’s in there. One might be tempted to think, than, that an above-board alternative would be a safer bet as far as content and consistency is concerned.
While potentially true, and sometimes indeed the case, there is no guarantee. We’ve talked plenty of times about the the dangers of the herbal end of the legal high market, about irresponsible vendors and shady product, and the lack of recourse should something unfortunate happen (never mind the fact that nearly every “tragedy” you hear about is more often then not the result of flagrant misuse/”over-indulgence”). The same rings true for bath salts, which tend to attract an edgier, more “metal” (if you will) crowd than incense does. The bath salt crowd also tend to be more social, much in the way users of the pill and powder uppers the the compounds in bath salts are similar to tend to go out to parties and such. Indeed, it was partly because of night club and bar owners that attention was originally brought to the growing commonality of bath salts.
If it sounds as though I’m secretly poo-pooing bath salts, I apologize. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of synthetic substances. They make me suspicious, and there are very few that I myself would even consider being willing to try. But that’s my thing. I don’t want it to color what I’m doing here. But, as a good journalist, it is important to state that yes, I have biases.
At any rate, for those of you unfamiliar, bath salts are exactly that. Various mineral and Epsom salts. The difference is the bath salts we’re talking about also have what ingredient labels call amino acid blends or natural extracts and stuff like that. These are usually the same sorts of “research chemicals” you often find in incense blends, albeit of a much different composition with much different effects. The specifics are readily available with a little Google searching. You can find whole forums, in fact, dedicated to research chemicals and the people who experiment with them. For the rest of us, you can buy small packs or jars, most commonly in 200 and 500 milligram sizes for anywhere from 20 to 50 bucks a piece. Sold with names like Ivory Wave, Lady Bubbles, and Crazy Train, not to mention a few with names that are tongue in cheek Charlie Sheen jokes, the field is far less diverse then that of the incense and herbal high market. The same array of problems are shoehorned into the smaller selection of vendors, however. The two biggest issues seem to be consistency and potency. Apparently going through a whole bag and feeling nothing, and then going through a little of a second batch of the same brand and getting laid the fuck out, Tyson style (or vice versa) is pretty par for the course. Absolutely every piece of advice about the stuff I can find says it is absolutely necessary to start with a little and work your way up, no matter how seasoned or confident you are. This stuff, like anything, can be dangerous.
By all rights it can be fun too, or so I hear. And like most stuff that’s fun, the government is cracking down. Apparently, the DEA has issued some kind of emergency warning that will ban the 3 most common research chemicals used in bath salt blends. Don’t you like how they can just up and ban something, and we the people don’t get a say? Granted, a lot of state level governments have already banned them, or have made enough of a stink about them that a ban wasn’t long in coming, but that doesn’t change my point. They aren’t fucking around, either. The penalties for this stuff is on the order of other schedule one substances, which is to say, years in prison.
So what does this mean? You have 30 days to stock up on as much of the stuff as you care to get your hands on before the banhammer comes down. Now I’m sure, as we’ve seen with JWH and states like Louisiana, that these companies won’t be long in putting forth new products with new formulas that will happily take the place of the ones people have enjoyed before. I’m sure some already have (I’d share a link, but I have no point of reference and don’t want to look like an ass). But for the time being, time is running out for mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone, or MDPV, as well as a handful of others. Get while the gettings good, I suppose, and we’ll take another look in a month when the dust has settled. At that point we can revisit the subject and I can do some proper bath salt reviews.
Be the first to like this post.I'm a 20-something journalist appalled by the silliness of our country and it's laws. We persecute people for plants. So, ever the fan of better living through chemistry, I'm starting this blog so that my peers, friends, and the general internet can find reliable alternatives.
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