Bath Salts Intervention

When Someone is using Baths Salts, Intervention may be the only Answer

Several years ago, Intervention Services never received any requests to conduct a bath salts intervention.  Today, not a week goes by where we get a call from a concerned family member inquiring about a sinking suspicion that their loved one could be abusing bath salts.  In the past, our “hardest intervention” was an intervention on someone who was using methamphetamine.  This was due to the fact that a meth user is often up for days, sees and hears hallucinations, can become violent or extremely dangerous.  Today, however, the interventions that have the greatest concern for us are no longer meth interventions, but a bath salts intervention.

Information about interventions for other types of drugs.

A Bath Salts Intervention?  What are Bath Salts exactly?

Bath Salts look and appear to be just like their name…bath salts.  However, there is a difference.  These particular bath salts are sold, packaged and marketed with one thing in mind:  to be smoked, injected, snorted or even mixed with water and drank.  Several years ago, it was possible to purchase, over the counter, these known major hallucinogenic stimulants.  They came in bright packages at local “head shops” or even smoke shops and had cute sounding names such as Ivory Wave or Vanilla Sky. 

Bath Salts are very similar chemically to other stimulants.  Essentially many drugs, recreational or medicinal are derived from plants called “alkaloid”.  For example, Cocaine is an alkaloid “salt”.  Methamphetamine is also a partial “salt” made from an alkaloid derivative (usually ephedrine).  Bath Salts manufacturers essentially found a class of alkaloids that weren’t yet regulated by the Federal Government and created a drug designed to have similar effects of major stimulants and call it an ordinary name “bath salts” with a marketing of an ordinary use (for your bath).  Could you actually use these “bath salts” in your tub?  Maybe…maybe not.  But, remember, they weren’t designed for this use.  Bath Salts are to create a major intoxicating effect and have just been sold under a cover name to evade regulation. Bath Salts drug abuse is a real problem.

Interventions on Bath Salts users can be highly dangerous

We mentioned before that bath salts interventions are the ones we consider potentially the most dangerous.  Why?  Well, in order to understand the effects of bath salts, you simple have to know the effects of a major potent stimulant.  Generally speaking, stimulants have an instant effect on the user.  Increased heartrate, feelings of euphoria, increased ambition and energy, lack of need for sleep.  Think of a cup of coffee times 10.  However, as a stimulant user continues to abuse the drug, over the next several weeks, months, or years the effects begin to change.  In addition to the increase in energy, Bipolar swings start to occur.  The user begins to experience hallucinations, hearing and seeing things that aren’t there.  And then the delusions begin.  Conspiracies start to form in their mind.  The user’s friends aren’t “friends” any longer, they are FBI agents out to “get them”.  Their parents and loved ones are conspiring to kidnap them and must be retaliated against.  The neighbor is a demon.   The television, even while off, begins to whisper to the user “stop them, they must be stopped”  Who are “they”?  Unfortunately, often times it is you, the one who is closest to them.

“My loved one could never hurt me” you might be thinking.  Someone under the influence of bath salts is not your loved one.  They are, essentially, in a psychotic state…a drug induced schizophrenia.  They are driven by things, thoughts and ideas that are not your loved one’s thoughts.  They are the drug.  Hopefully they will not injure themselves, you or someone else before the drug wears off.  Hopefully they will not wake up out of the drug induced psychosis in a jail cell, as many users have, with their head in their hands saying “my God, what have I done”.

Intervention Services is experienced in handling the many dangers associated with intervening on someone abusing bath salts.  Contact us now for more information about Bath Salts interventions or helping someone who is using bath salts. Our professional interventionist will guide you!