Are bath salts in Houlton?

Monday night’s community meeting drew about 60 people to the Houlton High School auditorium. The meeting, sponsored by Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) and Link for Hope, was set up as a learning session on Bath Salts.
An officer of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency told those in attendance that Bath Salts are in The County, but fortunately, not like they are in other parts of the state.
    Rebecca Miller of the Northern New England Poison Control Center, who is also is a certified specialist in poison information, a registered nurse and holds her masters in public health, has been working at the Poison Control Center more than 25 years.
“I’ve seen different trends through the years, but this Bath Salts is probably the worst trend I’ve seen in all the years I’ve worked [at the center],” she said. “When we started seeing it, we weren’t really sure what we were seeing. It is very much like PCP, cocaine and drugs like that. We thought we were seeing the effects of [those drugs], but as time went on, we started to see health effects lasting longer and longer. We realized, we were dealing with something else.”
What are bath salts?
Miller described it as a powdery-type substance with chemicals added to it causing stimulant effects. It is not cosmetic. It is a designer drug.
“It is labeled “bath salts” by the designer,” she said. “Designer drugs are here to stay and this is just one that we are seeing now. We will probably see more as time goes on.”
Bath Salts are known by several common names such as plant food, insect repellent, “legal” cocaine, decorative sand, toy cleaner, jewelry cleaner and research chemical. The brand names given to the drug are created by the designer. Those names include but are not limited to: ivory snow, vanilla sky, pure ivory, purple wave, ocean burst, blue silk; red dove, zoom bloom, cloud nine, ocean snow, lunar wave, white lightening, scarface and hurricane Charlie.
In Maine, Miller said the common term is monkey dust, along with brown, fluff or instant retardation.
Bath Salts are  like a fine power as salt or sugar. They can be sold in any place.
“Basically, it is deliberately spiked with psychoactive stimulants for abuse purposes,” Miller added.
Bath Salts are packaged in plastic bags with a variety of symbols as small as a dime or wrapped in foil. The drug can be dissolved in water or liquid and cigarettes are soaked and dried before smoking it; it can smoked through a pipe; snorted or ingested or foil is heated underneath the drug and inhaled.
Packet sizes vary and how many hits someone may get is dependent on their body’s tolerance.
“People using these are already on a lot of other drugs and their body may have more tolerance and be able to handle a larger dose of this,” explained Miller.
Bath Salts made their way onto the scene in 2009 with about 300 cases across the country.
“In 2010, we started seeing a real increase by August with 2,700 cases reported across the country,” Miller noted. “This is only the ones we know about.”  Or, in hindsight, other reported cases may have been initiated by bath salts, which officers didn’t take into account at the time.
Bath Salts and other designer drugs will increase, according to Miller, because once “designers saw a market here they started making more,” she added.
Many abusers of bath salts are veteran drug users. The drug is very addicting and could start to be addictive the first time used.
“The craving is also super, super strong,” Miller added.
Online research has yielded that people are saying to use 1/10th of what would be taken for cocaine because it is so strong.
“They are actually warning others of the nasty effects from this and that you could have a really bad trip,” Miller explained.
Using bath salts are both male and females between the ages of 20 to 50, though more abuse is done by males in their 20s. But, all ages are affected. The cost of a packet ranges between $25-$50, so the price may be deterring teens, However, those 18-and 19-year-olds are experimenting.
Bath Salt users say the high feels like methamphetamine, cocaine, Ritalin and Adderall all together. It has huge stimulant properties, heightening the senses and increasing energy. However, what effects the hospital staff sees is much different.
“There is extreme paranoia, rage and violent behavior,” Miller said. “The user has such fear they don’t know what to do. They end up calling 9-1-1 because they are either afraid of what is out to get them or they are just totally afraid and need some help.”
Bath Salt users demonstrate twitching, jerking, muscle contraction, seizures, erratic behavior. Hallucinations, delusions, hypertension, high blood pressure, elevated body temperature, strong suicidal thoughts and self-mutilation.
These symptoms can “wax and wane” over several days. It is not just a quick high.
Tracy Tarr, licensed alcohol and drug counselor and social worker at AMHC, listed some of the warning signs, which are: lack of sleep, increase in perception of surrounding environment, hypervigilant, hyperarousal, agitated — moving around or making quick movements; paranoia — believing things that don’t make a whole lot of sense to someone not on Bath Salts, but to the person on Bath Salts it is logical and real; hallucination can be heard or seen and a person believes it’s real; psychosis —a person doesn’t really have a good grip on reality so you may not be able to communicate with them well.
“If you suspect someone is on Bath Salts, get their name, remain calm and go into a neutral posture,” she said. “Don’t touch a person you suspect on Bath Salts, it may increase their agitation a great deal.”
“People using Bath Salts are very dangerous,” Miller said. “People can be fine for awhile and then go ballistic again. You just aren’t sure what a person may do.”
Miller also said that even with medical intervention, some patients’ blood pressure has not come down to normal for days, which can lead to possible strokes and heart attacks.
Another physical side effect includes muscle breakdown from clenching the muscles.
“Muscle tissue breaks down and creates different types of acids in body, which get into kidneys and cause damage,” Miller explained. “As far as long term neurological effects, amnesia, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to flashbacks are being seen now.”
Many patients are placed in induced comas as not to hurt themselves or those around them. There is usually destruction of property because of the user’s extreme strength to significant weight loss over time.
Miller said general signs include agitation or catatonic behavior to becoming violent with little or no warning, lots of paranoia, yelling and screaming to becoming sweaty, thirsty, jerky body movements and grinding of teeth.
Miller said if someone encounters a Bath Salt user make sure 9-1-1 is called and then make the scene as calm, quiet and safe as possible.
“Make sure the person understands you are there to help them,” Miller said. “If they are hallucinating go along with it. Don’t tell them the hallucination is not happening. You may become the enemy. Offer to take them somewhere safe like a hospital. They need a hospital as simple as that.”
Tarr agreed. “Even if it is a family member or friend, be careful,” she said. “The hallucinations are pretty dramatic and vivid. Someone in that state of mind is not feeling very safe.”
Some users admitted binging on the drug.
“The drug can cause a huge euphoria,” Miller said. “But, then the user plummets. When they are down, they are down. They need to have more so they actually end up binging.
A couple of ingredients in Bath Salts can be tested for and treatment options include diazepam and antipsychotic drugs. There is also substance abuse professionals within the town and The County. AMHC and Life By Design have licensed alcohol and drug counselors on site. Treatment is outpatient individual sessions, intensive out patient or residential treatment.
“I really always feel that it is important to remember that people get better from addiction,” said Tarr. “That people can have an addiction problem, a serious addiction problem, can get better and do get better.”
Tarr encouraged parents and teachers to talk to children about the danger of Bath Salts.
“Know about it,” said Tarr. “I’m not seeing any really young people on Bath Salts. I suspect that because it is expensive and not really something young people can get easily. Know the enemy and learn the language.”
Parents and community members be aware of behavior changes in young people; weight loss, acting erratic or strange; a sudden change in interest — hanging out with friend or particular group of friends — sleeping less and mood swings, which are dramatic beyond normal.
New federal and Maine laws have been enacted within the last few months to counterattack the use of Bath Salts.
“Eight synthetic cathinones are illegal in Maine,” said an officer of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. “October 21, the federal DEA made three of those cathinones illegal.”
Before the new law, even if someone was suspected of abusing Bath Salts, the law enforcement officers couldn’t do anything about it.
“Now, it allows us to charge a person if they are in possession of it,” the DEA officer related. “The possession or trafficking fines are more in line with other scheduled drugs.”
The law has changed the crime from a civil to a Class D misdemeanor punishable by one year in jail. The unlawful trafficking of drugs changed from a Class C to Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, while aggravated trafficking went from a Class C to a Class A felony punishable by 25 years in jail.
For more information on Bath Salts, call the local police, local hospital, 9-1-1 or the statewide crisis helpline at 1-888-568-1112.