TRENTON
– Intervening to stop an imminent
threat to public safety and health, Attorney
General Paula T. Dow and Thomas R. Calcagni,
Acting Director of the State Division of
Consumer Affairs, today announced an Order
of the Acting Director to ban the manufacture,
distribution, sale, and possession of designer
drugs labeled as “bath salts”.
Effective
immediately upon the signing by Acting Director
Calcagni on Wednesday, the Order adds six
chemicals associated with designer drugs
labeled as “bath salts” to the
list of Schedule I Controlled Dangerous
Substances in New Jersey. As Schedule I
CDS, the drugs are now subject to the strictest
level of state control. Manufacture, distribution,
sale, or possession of the chemicals is
now a third-degree crime. Violators may
be subject to a fine of up to $25,000 and
imprisonment for a three- to five-year term.
Designer
drugs labeled as “bath salts”
are associated with intense, severe side
effects that have led to suicidal thoughts,
self-mutilation, and violent outbursts.
On December 3, 2010, a 26-year-old man shot
and killed a County Sheriff’s Deputy
in Mississippi. According to officials,
toxicology results later revealed chemicals
from the so-called “bath salts”
designer drugs in the man’s system.
Psychological
side effects include extreme anxiety and
paranoia, delusional thinking, and visual
and auditory hallucinations. Physical side
effects include dramatically increased blood
pressure and heart rates, and chest pains
so severe some users feared they were dying.
The
State CDS Act authorizes the Director of
the Division of Consumer Affairs to classify
a substance as a Schedule I CDS through
the promulgation of a regulation, if the
substance is found to have a high potential
for abuse and no accepted medical use for
treatment in the United States. The Act
further authorizes the Director of Consumer
Affairs to issue an order classifying a
substance as a CDS, when the delays occasioned
by promulgating a regulation would constitute
an imminent danger to public health or safety.
The order signed yesterday will remain in
effect for 270 days, or until a regulation
is adopted. The administrative process of
adopting a regulation includes a public
hearing.
So-called
“bath salts” designer drugs,
containing one or more of the chemicals
banned by the Order, have been sold in gas
stations and smoke shops in New Jersey.
They are also widely available over the
Internet. Having no known legitimate use,
the drugs are falsely labeled as “bath
salts,” “plant food,”
or other innocuous substances, and marked
“Not For Human Consumption”
in order to conceal from law enforcement
the true purpose of the substances.
The
drugs have been sold with brand names such
as “Energizing Aromatherapy,”
“Down2Earth White Horse,” “Kamikaze,”
“Ivory Wave,” “Purple
Wave,” “Red Dove,” “Blue
Silk,” “Vanilla Sky,”
and many others.
“Shady
retailers are playing a deadly game, selling
highly dangerous drugs with fake labels
like ‘bath salts’ or ‘plant
food’ to evade the law,” Attorney
General Dow said. “No more. Here in
New Jersey the game is over. Today, anyone
who sells these drugs is committing a crime.
We’re taking these drugs off the streets
in order to save lives.”
Attorney
General Dow also announced that individuals
who voluntarily surrender the so-called
“bath salts” designer drugs
within the next 10 days – by the end
of the day on May 8, 2011 – will not
face criminal charges. This announcement
is to encourage individuals and retailers
to immediately hand over the drugs to their
nearest State or local police station.
“Users
may have believed this new breed of designer
drug was somehow safer than cocaine or methamphetamines,
simply because it wasn’t specifically
targeted by the law,” Acting Director
Calcagni said. “The disturbing reality
is, these substances have been linked to
severe health consequences and chilling
acts of violence and self-mutilation. With
only weeks to go before the start of the
summer season, we are striking with this
swift intervention in order to get these
drugs out of retail establishments and away
from anyone who might use them.”
New
Jersey is believed to be the third state
to take expedited administrative action
classifying the six so-called “bath
salts” designer drug chemicals as
Schedule I CDS, after Louisiana and Florida.
Legislation
currently pending in the New Jersey Senate
as S2829 would criminalize the possession
and sale of products containing two of the
so-called “bath salts” designer
drug chemicals, specifically mephedrone
and MDPV. Other states and jurisdictions
have taken administrative action, enacted
legislation, or proposed legislation to
ban at least one of the chemicals used in
these drugs.
"The
real-world impact of these so-called ‘bath
salts’ designer drugs is being seen
in hospital emergency rooms across the country.
These chemicals have no valid medical use
and can only cause life-threatening harm
to those who ingest them," said Dr.
Christina Tan, Acting State Deputy Health
Commissioner.
The
Division of Consumer Affairs, with the assistance
of the New Jersey Poison Information and
Education System and local law enforcement,
has been monitoring the increasing prevalence
of these drugs within New Jersey.
Use
of the drugs has spiked dramatically since
the beginning of 2011. The New Jersey Poison
Information and Education System has received
23 reports of the use of designer drugs
labeled as “bath salts” since
January 1, 2011, with over 60 percent of
those reports coming from the counties of
Monmouth, Middlesex, and Ocean. Half of
the reports were received during the first
three weeks of April; nearly all were so
severe as to require emergency treatment
in a healthcare facility, and more than
half resulted in admission to a hospital.
“The
intensity of these reports is alarming,
especially given the unusually high number
of cases within a short period of time,
and the severity of their symptoms,”
said Dr. Steven M. Marcus, Medical and Executive
Director of the New Jersey Poison Information
and Education System. “Based on these
concerns, this appears to be a crucial time
for New Jersey to step in and ban these
dangerous substances.”
Nationwide,
there were 1,782 calls to poison centers
about designer drugs labeled as “bath
salts” during the first four months
of 2011 (as of April 20), compared with
just 302 calls during all of 2010, according
to the American Association of Poison Control
Centers.
The
Order of the Acting Director lists the following
chemicals as Schedule I Controlled Dangerous
Substances in New Jersey:
- 3,4
– Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV)
- 4
– Methylmethcathinone (Mephedrone,
4-MMC)
- 3,4
– Methylenedioxymethcathinone (Methylone,
MDMC)
- 4
– Fluoromethcathinone (Flephedrone,
4-FMC)
- 3
– Fluoromethcathinone (3-FMC)
- 4
– Methoxymethcathinone (Methedrone,
bk-PMMA, PMMC)
The
contents of individual packets of designer
drugs labeled as “bath salts”
vary, but have generally been found to include
at least one of these chemicals. The chemicals
are synthetic derivatives of cathinone,
which is a Schedule I CDS under Federal
law.
(NOTE:
Despite being falsely labeled as “bath
salts,” these drugs should not be
confused with Epson salts or other materials
that are commonly and legitimately added
to bath water. The Order announced today
does not ban Epson salts or other true bath
salts).
For
Further Information:
See
the Order of the Acting Director and NJ
Division of Consumer Affairs Fact Sheets,
available at www.NJConsumerAffairs.gov:
- So-Called
“Bath Salts” Designer Drugs:
Statistics on Abuse in New Jersey
- So-Called
“Bath Salts” Designer Drugs:
Facts About Synthetic Cathinones
- So-Called
“Bath Salts” Designer Drugs:
Nationwide Efforts
- “WARNING”
Flyer
To
learn more about the Order of the Acting
Director, or to report information about
the manufacture, distribution, sale, or
possession of designer drugs labeled as
“bath salts,” contact the NJ
Division of Consumer Affairs:
For
any other questions related to these drugs,
contact the NJ Poison Information and Education
System hotline, 800-222-1222.
For
emergencies, dial 9-1-1.
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