Examples of fake “bath salts” are displayed by Senate Drug Policy Committee chairman Sid Albritton, R-Picayune, at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss. The salts contain toxic chemicals that some people snort, smoke or huff to get a hallucinogenic high, and lawmakers are talking about banning them. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)Georgia lawmakers are moving quickly to ban a legal synthetic drug that is sold as bath salts and which police say is potentially deadly.
Ivory Wave, Cloud Nine and Red Dove are just a few of the names for the bath salts, which can cause a user to hallucinate for days after snorting, huffing or injecting them. They are available in some stores and on the Internet and cost about $20 per packet.
“Because it is legal, we have a lot of kids who think it’s safe,” said state Rep. Jay Neal, R-LaFayette. He said he plans to introduce legislation today to ban the ingredients used in the bath salts.
The powdery packets are a hot topic in statehouses and media outlets across the country, and there have been several cases of emergency room trips and a few deaths related to the use of the substance.
Lawmakers in Georgia and several neighboring states — but not Tennessee — have filed or plan to introduce bills to ban the suspect bath salts.