Lab results show bath salts contain a variety of chemicals that can cause an accidental overdose.
To determine just how dangerous these substances are, the Star Tribune notified federal law enforcement authorities and bought an array of synthetic drugs - 30 in all - from dealers in the United States and overseas earlier this year. The Star Tribune also paid to have the drugs tested by MedTox Laboratories in New Brighton.
Most of the substances were mislabeled, the investigation showed, with packages that did not disclose their chemical content. Some items came with deliberately misleading instructions on how they should be used.
The laboratory test results disturbed several drug experts who reviewed the findings for the newspaper. The packages contained an array of psychoactive stimulants, hallucinogens and cannabinoids. Also troubling: Concentration levels varied so much that a dose of one was many times more potent than the same dose of another -- even when the products carried the same name, the experts said.
Such variations in content and purity make the drugs dangerously unpredictable and greatly increase the chance of dying from an accidental overdose, the experts said.
"Anyone who uses products like this might as well be playing Russian roulette," said Cody Wiberg, executive director of the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy.
"These are hard drugs in pretty packages that produce effects similar to LSD and methamphetamine," said David Ferguson, a professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Minnesota. "At best, users are guessing at dose and have no idea what is actually in the package. The potential for an overdose is high."
Link: http://www.startribune.com/local/129189483.html