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State pharmacy board bans 'bath salts' drugs

The state Board of Pharmacy is moving to crack down on so-called "bath salts" as substitutes for cocaine and methamphetamine.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - The state Board of Pharmacy is moving to crack down on so-called bath salts as substitutes for cocaine and methamphetamine.

The Board filed emergency rules on April 15 to classify the products as Schedule I drugs.

Bath salt products are sold widely in smoke shops, head shops, and online. Called Ivory Wave, Red Dove, Zoom and other names, the products contain stimulants called substituted cathinones that affect behavior and judgment. They're typically inhaled, similar to snorting cocaine.


The Board's action followed a report showing that the Washington State Poison Center is receiving a growing number of calls about people who've ingested the products. Half of the calls came from hospital emergency rooms. According to the Poison Center, there's been a three-fold increase (to 39) already this year over the total number of bath salt ingestion calls in 2010, the Poison Center said.


On April 7, the board unanimously voted to write emergency rules to ban sale and possession of substituted cathinone products in Washington; the rules were filed April 15. The board s vote to classify the products as Schedule I controlled substances makes it illegal to make, sell, deliver, or possess them. Idaho and Oregon have also banned these substances.

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