Dangerous "bath salts" hit Syracuse area like a tornado, expert says

While walking her dogs, Dr. Elizabeth Berry sees brightly colored containers of bath salts littering Syracuses Elmwood Park.

The illegal drug easily found on the Internet or from dealers for less than $30 an ounce has hit the community like a tornado, said Berry, a drug treatment psychologist at Crouse Hospital. Much different than traditional bath salts, this synthetic drug is so named because its sold in crystals and appears relatively harmless.

Its very frightening, said Berry who has seen usage spike in the last six months.

People (on the drug) get very paranoid, she said. Theyre very easily threatened, a very high level of aggression, hard to calm. Their reality testing is so impaired, theyre not reasonable. Their reactions dont make sense.

Syracuses Upstate New York Poison Center, which covers 54 Upstate counties, has seen an explosion of so-called bath salts cases. Before 2011, there hadnt been a single case reported. In 2011, there were 118 cases. This year, there have already been 165 cases through mid-June.

This month, Central New York authorities have linked three high-profile cases to bath salts:

The bizarre behavior of people on bath salts makes them dangerous to others. The Miami man accused of eating the face of another man Memorial Day weekend could have been under the influence of the drug, according to news reports.

Like recent cases locally, however, authorities have not had time to confirm precisely what the suspects were using.

Nationally, bath salts use spiked from 304 cases in 2010 to 6,138 cases a year ago reported to poison control centers. The pace has slowed slightly this year, with 1,007 cases reported as of April 30, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers. However, bath salts started as a trend in the South and Midwest, only recently becoming a problem in the Northeast, experts said.

Berry, who works at Crouses Chemical Dependency Treatment Service, said the high from bath salts takes about 20 minutes and lasts three to four hours. The drug is normally sniffed or snorted. It can also be injected. Users can experience flashbacks days later, like LSD.

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Dangerous "bath salts" hit Syracuse area like a tornado, expert says