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IPFS News Link • Drug War

FYI: Could Drugs Like "Bath Salts" Be Causing An Outbreak of Cannibalism?

• http://www.popsci.com, By Colin Lecher
 Bath salts, the nickname for a relatively new type of designer drug that's been cited as the cause for recent violent attacks -- not to be confused with actual salts you put in your bath -- does cause hallucinations for some people, along with a laundry list of other psychological effects. Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), loosely agreed upon as the active ingredient in many bath salts, is under an emergency DEA federal ban, along with other, similar drugs in the cathinone family. It works like a stimulant, increasing activity in the nervous system in the same way as cocaine or Ritalin. The neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine are inhibited, and if that's done with potent enough doses, it could lead to extreme paranoia and delusions. If a user's reaction is especially bad, they could end up doing something horrific in a drug-induced psychosis--such as eating someone, as in the now-famous Miami "zombie" attack.

Similar incidents have occurred with other drugs, before bath salts hit the news; rapper Big Lurch was famously locked away for life in 2003 after killing and eating parts of his girlfriend while under the effects of PCP.


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