The U.S. Navy is attempting to fight a drug war on their home turf. Navy Medicine released a public service announcement meant to show the horrifying effects of bath salts.
Navy attempts to deal with the problem
The PSA shows a sailor taking bath salts he received in the mail and then hanging out with his girlfriend at a bowling alley. He starts hallucinating and assaults his girlfriend.
Lt. George Loeffler, a Psychiatry Resident at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, appears on screen and says, “When people are using bath salts, they’re not their normal selves. They’re angrier. They’re erratic. They’re violent and they’re unpredictable…. People will start seeing things that aren’t there, believing things that aren’t true.”
According to CBS News, the Navy is dealing with an increase use of synthetic drugs, which it is attempting to curb by showing “real life” consequences in the PSA.
ABC News has the video posted online.
The man-made high
Bath salts have quickly become an easy way for people to get a legal high.
Teens claim snorting bath salts gives them a “rush” or a euphoric feeling. The salts have mephedrone and methylone in them, which come from an herb. The salts are compared to ecstasy, and were easy to get before the ruling. A small container costs $20 and can be found at many shops.
“There is no tolerance for those who manufacture, distribute, or sell these drugs anywhere in the country,” DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart says in a news release. “Those who do will be shut down, arrested, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
While the federal government has stepped in, WebMD reports that 33 states had already banned the substance. Poison control units all over the U.S. have reported an increase in the number of people calling to report an overdose of bath salts.
Now, military organizations are stepping up educational programs in an attempt to thwart the use of bath salts.
