DEA bans synthetic drug known as ‘bath salts’ - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

DEA bans synthetic drug known as ‘bath salts’

The Drug Enforcement Administration is invoking an emergency authority temporarily banning the designer drug mephedrone, known as “bath salts” or “plant food.”

The action, announced Wednesday, will make possessing and selling the synthetic stimulant illegal for at least a year while the DEA and the Department of Health and Human Services study the effects of the chemical on public health.

The ban could take effect 30 days after the DEA’s initial announcement in the Federal Regsiter on Sept. 8.

Designer drugs, which include spice, a synthetic cannabinoid that produces a high similar to marijuana, and mephedrone, a stimulant, have been a concern for the Defense Department since they first emerged in 2008.

Navy Surgeon General Vice Adm. Adam Robinson wrote Monday on his blog about the legal consequences and health dangers of synthetic drug use.

“Consumption of any of these products meets the criteria for drug abuse and is prohibited,” Robinson said.

Mephedrone, marketed in the products Ivory Wave, Purple Wave or Vanilla Sky, is already labeled as a controlled or banned substance in 33 states, according to the DEA.