Bath salts has an appeal based on being marketed as a legal high that eludes detection in routine drug tests (Smith, Cardile, & Miller, 2011). The allure of passing a drug test makes bath salts particularly popular with individuals who have to pass routine drug tests or are subject to random drug tests such as drug court participants and military service members (SAMHSA, 2012). Additionally, the packages of bath salts are colorful and youthful with character illustrations such as Scooby Doo and Dopey on the front. The marketing of the packages are gear to gain the attention of the younger generations. However, the age range of bath salt users are between twenty and twenty-nine years of age with the median age of twenty-six (Penders, 2012; SAMHSA, 2012). Of those users, majority of them consist of males (SAMHSA, 2012). Regardless of the type of users or the better understanding of bath salts in emergency rooms, bath salts is an ever increasing popular designer …show more content…
As some leading experts have expressed, cocaine and methamphetamine long-term effects may not be as damaging as that of bath salt use (Slomoski, 2012). Bath salt neurological effects may be linked to the intensity of the neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin (Joksovic et al., 2012). Since bath salt is a new designer drug, there is still much that is unknown about the effects on the brain and the body (Slomoski, 2012). However, it is clear that there cannot be a proper diagnosis until total abstinence of the drug has occurred. Some studies have shown that continued psychiatric visits occurred even after use of the drug ceased (Joksovic et al., 2012). Other individuals experienced lifetime anxiety, depression, and panic attack after bath salt use (Penders, 2012). Often these conditions were accompanied by suicidal ideations (Penders,