The Effects of Recreational Drugs on the Body: The Bath Salts

Since 2008, synthetic drugs have created a trend that both authorities and health care officials are struggling to contain. Right here in the Southern Tier, Bath Salts have become the biggest drug issue in Steuben County.

When you think of the word "drug" what comes to mind? Probably marijuana, cocaine, lsd, prescriptions but what about bath salts? When I first heard stories about people on bath salts my reaction was you have to be kidding right, but no first popping onto the radar of the DEA and poison control in 2010, this product is causing quite a stir in the United States. Mark Ryan from the LA poison control says in an interview on the Dr. Oz television show "that he has never seen a drug that has caused the problem as quickly and severely as this". Making local and national headlines as the new designer drug that is completely legal, for now at least, and very dangerous. It doesn't stop people from purchasing it and snorting, ingesting, injecting

Phencyclidine, or PCP, was synthesized in 1926 and used in the 1950s to act as a surgical anesthetic. However, it was retired in 1960s due to significant side effects including delusion, emotional trauma and acutely irrational behavior. It now sees illegal use as an extremely potent and dangerous hallucinogenic drug. It is generally ingested either orally or through the nose and its sedative effects take hold extremely quickly. PCP takes the form of a white, readily soluble powder crystalline in nature. It has It has been classified as being a hallucinogen, dissociative anesthetic, psychotomimetic, and sedative-hypnotic.

The abuse of methamphetamine is a very serious problem in the United States. According to one national survey, approximately 10 million people in the United States have tried methamphetamine at least once (Meth Abuse and Addiction, 2010). Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system. Although most of the methamphetamine used in this country comes from foreign or domestic super labs, the drug is also easily made in small clandestine laboratories, with inexpensive over the counter ingredients. Methamphetamine is commonly known as “speed,” “meth,” and “chalk.” In its smoked form it is often referred to as “ice,” “crystal,” “crank,” and “glass.” It is a

“I want to be addicted to meth!” Have you ever heard anyone say this? While millions of people use methamphetamines, it would be difficult to find a person that had the desire to become addicted to it. Despite a radical increase in the number of people using this drug and the terrible consequences of doing so, it has recently propelled in popularity. Meth addiction is so common because the use of the drug is prevalent in many areas and because there is little knowledge about the risks involved. Few people comprehend the long-term effects of meth on the brain and the body. Methamphetamine is an extremely powerful drug and is so dangerous because it only takes one time to become seriously

Also during that time period a common treatment for such disorders included a procedure known as trephining. This procedure included chipping a hole into the skull of the afflicted person. This procedure has endured through time and is still used today in a more refined way to treat medical problems like migraines and skull fractures. When dealing with mental afflictions, Ancient Egyptians recommended modern methods like engaging in recreational activities like dancing, and painting. In the past it has also been common to lock up in jails or dungeons individuals who were mentally ill and who acted out. In the 17th century drugs like laudanum, unguents, opium grains were used as sedatives to ease the torment that mentally ill individuals would endure. At certain points in time, the mentally ill were housed in monasteries up until asylums were created and used to hold these individuals.

By 1919, Japan started producing methamphetamine which was cheaper and more potent than amphetamine. It was produced in a crystalline powder form and was able it to be dissolved in water, making it easier for it to be injected. This form of amphetamine is still legally produced in the US and is being sold under the name of Desoxyn. (Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, 2010, para. 1-3)

Many drugs have been used in the MKULTRA experiments including “mustard and nerve gas, riot-control agents, LSD, PCP, mescaline, and hundreds of other chemicals, including many that had been rejected by manufacturers for commercial use because they contained deadly poisons, such as dioxin.”(Linda

Flakka is the drug that originated from Florida, not only in Florida but signs of drugs use have been found in Ohio and Texas. Flakka, which gets its name from Spanish slang for a thin beautiful woman ("la flaca"), contains a chemical that is a close cousin to MDPV, a key ingredient in "bath salts. “Since September 2014, hospitals, doctors, police, and fire rescue crews in Florida have seen patients with symptoms and signs that include bizarre behavior, agitation, paranoia, and delusions of superhuman strength. The man-made drug causes a high similar to cocaine. But like "bath salts," a group of related synthetic drugs that were banned in 2012, flakka has the potential to be much more dangerous than cocaine.

Some behavioural symptoms might be depression, delusions and hallucinations, obsessive behaviour, uncontrollable movement, addiction and aggression, paranoia and tolerance to the drug. ‘Body by Meth’, the users’ hair will start to fall out due to the toxic chemicals mixed with malnutrition, it can lead to rotting teeth and gums due to poor oral hygiene and the acidity of the drug, meth raises body temperature to dangerous levels and it severally increases heart and blood rate. They often hallucinate that bugs are crawling under their skin causing the users of the drug to try and dig them out leaving them with open sores, meth users also become very frail and thin due to the absence of appetite. Users of meth lose all self-respect for themselves, almost as if they’re becoming a slave to the drug. They become vulnerable and the risk factor increases while their care factor drops and they tend to be less selective when choosing their sexual partners. Meth users are more likely to engage in unsafe sexual behaviours such as unprotected sex, this increases the risk of STI’s (sexually transmitted diseases) like Herpes, Chlamydia, HIV and

This can bring about a high that can last up to 16 hours, during which the abuser feels invincible and is therefore terribly aggressive. The abuser continues the drug intake in an effort to maintain the high, which however, is never as good as the first and eventually becomes non-existent.

Bath salts, resembling the effects of amphetamines and cocaine, take the appearance of Epsom salts to be put inside the body. The effects of bath salts allows the body to be in constant

When something new comes and is publicized and talked about, human nature tends to make people experiment. That is exactly what people did with L.S.D. The mass of the population did it for fun with no real intent to harm them. Psychiatrists had a field day with the new drug. Psychotherapy was the major field in which L.S.D. played a factor. All through the Sixties and up into the early Seventies, doctors tried all angles to find a concrete use in the field of psychotherapy for L.S.D. In the Sixties the drug was even attempted as a weapon for chemical warfare. The effect of the drug was said to take all rationality out of its victim making them an easy target. L.S.D. prevailed in 1965 because it was said to do "good" things to people. First, it could easily bring out inner emotions and repressed memories

The usage of drugs is a very common practice in our society nowadays. The usage of drugs can vary from medical purposes to recreational purposes. What is drugs? ‘A drug is any chemical you take that affects the way your body works.’ (Science Museum, What is a drug?, n.d.) So this does not mean that drugs can only be in the form of pill, tablet, oral solution, and injection drugs can also in the form of tobacco that contains nicotine, or drinkable substance such as coffee and tea that contains caffeine and beer that contains alcohol. (Crocq, 2003) For some people nowadays recreational drugs already become a way of life.

Have you ever dealt with the effects of drug addict? A drug is a person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol, which has a psychological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body. The effects of drug use can vary depending on the person. According to “Causes and types of narcotic addiction: A Psychosocial View” in the Psychiatric Quarterly it says, “The causes of drugs stem from the manner of which you were introduced to it whether it be by abnormal curiosity, chance encounters with addicts and narcotic peddlers, or prolonged illness” (Ausubel). The effects of drugs can be have different effects on everyone differently depending if its for pleasure or for relieving pain Most of the effects of drugs occur in the brain, where it increases the level of dopamine at a specific site possibly giving the addict the pleasure they were feigning for (Robbins). As a child I didn’t know much about drugs except for what your parents and teachers at school tell you which is, “Just Say No.”