The arrival of bath salts in Thunder Bay has city police concerned about how far the designer drug has spread.
Police on April 24 busted a 32-year-old Hamilton man at a Heron Street residence in Thunder Bay, recovering a quantity of narcotics, including magic mushrooms, oxycodone, marijuana and 25 grams of bath salts, a drug Staff Sgt. Murray Brown likened to cocaine or amphetamines.
Brown said police aren’t sure how deep the problem goes in the city.
“I think it’s too early to tell. It first came to the attention of U.S. authorities in 2010. In the fall of 2012 Canada added it to the Schedule 1 Controlled Drugs and Substances Act,” Brown said.
“So we’ve known about it for a little while, we just haven’t seen it here in Thunder Bay as of yet.”
The move came last September, when Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq banned methylenedioxypyrovalerone, the key ingredient in bath salts.
"Our government is committed to protecting hardworking Canadian families and keeping our streets and communities safe," Aglukkaq said in a release at the time.
"That's why we have moved quickly to make the illicit drug known as bath salts illegal to possess, traffic, import or export, unless authorized by regulation."
According to DrugFree.org, bath salts are sold in powder form and are usually snorted or ingested. But they can also be used orally, smoked or injected.
It’s the side effects that have police really worried.
Short-term effects include paranoia that can lead to violence, against others or the user themselves. Suicidal thoughts aren’t uncommon, while hallucinations, increased heart rate, chest pain and death or serious injury can also result.
“Some of the side effects are quite disturbing and we’re looking into that,” Brown said.
The drug usually takes effect in 15 minutes and the high can last up to six hours. Long-term effects are unknown.
“Obviously anytime there is a new substance that could be abused by the community, it’s a police concern and a medical concern as well. People may become dependent on it much like cocaine, marijuana and other controlled drugs,” Brown said.
“As a result, the community as a whole has another substance to combat.”
Brown said police are talking to other agencies, an attempt to determine where the drugs are coming from.
“We’ll be targeting people that are using it for illegal purposes. Bath salts are quite similar to Epsom salts. That’s how they get their street name. Obviously it’s not for human consumption, and that’s what concerns police,” he said.
“If people start injecting it, snorting it, much like cocaine and other controlled drugs, then obviously it has ramifications health-wise.”
