"Bath salts": discovering the terrible cannibal drug
Bath salts: cannibal drug is spread in the West and with it its terrible effects among consumers.
When in 2012, Rudy Eugene, 31, was gunned down for rioting the streets of Miami naked, attacking a homeless man and ripping off 75% of his face, a drug caught the attention of the American media because of the terrible nature of the crime .
The news brought to light an hallucinogen that is known as "bath salts" and that has come to be called cannibal drug. Although often described as the "new LSD," bath salts do not have much in common with the hallucinogen that became popular in the 1960s. Both drugs are synthetic drugs, but the similarities do not make any reference to the main effects of the drug.
The active component of the cannibal drug
While the main effect of LSD is create hallucinations and visual distortions in the perception of time and space , depending on the dose used, the "bath salts" are, in fact, a chemical similar to amphetamine, containing methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), mephedrone and pyrovalerone. This change in its composition, of course, makes its fit into the human nervous system have different consequences, since the impact it has on the way in which our neurons capture and emit neurotransmitters are different, as occurs when they supply legal psychotropic drugs.
The effects of bath salts
Bath salts can be smoked, inhaled or injected. Hallucinations may be a side effect, but the main effects are similar to other stimulants, such as cocaine, crystal or methamphetamine. The main psychoactive effects include a increased alertness, euphoria, agitation, high blood pressure and increased heart rate .
Consumers agree when describing a huge force, an inhibition of pain and an extreme internal heat that causes them to undress. But those are only the less harmful effects, since in many occasions severe effects such as aggression, paranoia, psychosis, depression, suicidal thoughts and even death have been reported. Hence, several people have turned this substance into something that is known as "cannibal drug": its consumption makes you lose sight of a stable view of reality, and confusion, added to the aggressiveness induced from the effects of the substance in zones of the limbic system, can lead to commit brutal aggressions.
Although this substance is known as bath salts, it has nothing in common with those used by people to relax in the bathtub. In the drug market, bath salts are also known by other names such as red dove, purple, moon wave, pure ivory, cannibal drug, ivory wave, vanilla sky, blessing or white lightning.
A drug that spreads because of several factors
The cannibal drug relatively cheap and can be found in the market for 20 dollars (15 euros). Bath salts have been linked to an alarming increase in the number of emergency room visits throughout the United States.
Patients with the syndrome known as "delirium with excitement" after consuming bath salts may also suffer from dehydration , deterioration of muscle tissue renal insufficiency . But the most alarming is the extreme aggressiveness presented by consumers, which has been compared to cannibal acts due to their brutality.
The first results indicate that this synthetic substance has a high potential for abuse and addiction. Consumers of bath salts have reported that the drug triggers intense cravings (or a compulsive need to use the drug again) and that is highly addictive. Frequent use may result in tolerance, dependence, and strong withdrawal symptoms if the cannibal drug is stopped abruptly.
