US Navy Faces New Enemy: Bath Salts
The Navy’s stand regarding drug use is very clear, as evidenced by its zero-tolerance policy against any form of misuse and abuse of controlled substances.
At this time, the Navy is in the midst of a war against spice, or synthetic marijuana. There is, however, another designer drug that is becoming more popular, and is becoming a cause for concern among health officials: bath salts.
Bath salts are a powdery substance made of synthetic chemicals, which can be snorted, smoked, inhaled, consumed or injected. It is being sold under such brands as Ivory Wave or Vanilla Sky, and like spice, it preferred by some people as it is practically undetectable in urine tests.
The active ingredients in bath salts are mephedrone or methylenedioxypyrovalerone, or MDPV, which are synthetic cathinones. These substances are derived from khat, a plant native to Africa and southern Arabia, and they mimic the effects of such illegal drugs as cocaine and methamphetamine.
Those who abuse bath salts may suffer from anxiety, depression, hallucinations, delusions, poor concentration, tremors, seizures, nausea, and sweats.
Lt. George Loeffler, chief psychiatry resident at Naval Medical Center San Diego, shared that the problem with bath salts is that it is still not possible to screen for it using urine testing. He said: “It’s one of the reasons why these substances appear so popular in the military, vice in the civilian community. They actually market it to the fact that they don’t pop positive on the standard urine drug screen.”
Tags: US Navy bath salts abuse, US Navy drug abuse, US Navy drug misuse
