State legislators ban drugs known as 'bath salts'

While Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong says he's pleased that Nevada legislators have outlawed the designer drugs called "bath salts," he nonetheless worries they'll be chasing an industry that can simply change the chemical formula.

The state legislative commission approved a ban last week that was passed in January by the Nevada Board of Pharmacy. It prohibits the sale or possession of the substance.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the drugs as being to blame for at least two deaths in Nevada. Bath salts can cause heart palpitations, disorientation, extreme paranoia and violence.

Furlong said he's seen almost across-the-board cooperation from local businesses when they're asked not to carry the product.

"The businesses in Carson by and large pulled it off their shelves, but (users) could always go elsewhere" to buy the drugs, he said.

Locally, Furlong said he knows of several reports of females using the drug and being sexually assaulted.

"We need to stay up on the wave," Furlong said of enforcing the ban on the drug. "As they change (the chemical makeup), we need to change right along with them."

The ban makes the drugs a Schedule 1 controlled substance, and possession or sale of them could bring up to a four-year prison term and a $5,000 fine.

The drugs are found in smoke shops under names such as Vanilla Sky, Purple Wave and White Lightning. Users typically snort or smoke the substance.

The regulation doesn't ban the kinds of bath salts that are added to tubs for their fragrance and cosmetic benefits.