The bizarre side effects of synthetic drugs

TEMPE, Ariz. -

Police say drugs like "bath salts" can mimic the effects of crack cocaine and even meth.

We've had a number of incidents involving bath salts recently, and one valley police department is seeing more and more cases of bath salts, enough to call it an epidemic.

Just this week, Tempe police have encountered suspects in three separate cases who told them they were on bath salts. What's really scary about this stuff for them is that because the drug is modified so often -- sometimes they're not sure what they're dealing with.

The behavior is bizarre. You may remember this case from last month -- 38-year-old Chris Brown, high on bath salts, took a swim in Tempe Town Lake naked. Every time firefighters got close to rescue him, he would swim away.

"We've had several cases of individuals becoming violent," says Lt. Noah Johnson, Special Investigations Bureau.

Just this week, rescue crews fished out a 33-year-old swimmer from Tempe Town Lake.

He was rambling and incoherent and admitted he'd ingested bath salts. He also told police there was another swimmer with him in the water. Crews searched for hours, but never found anyone.

Lt. Noah Johnson tells us the Tempe police are seeing a spike in the number of people high on the synthetic drug and it isn't unusual for these incidents to involve nudity.

"It increases body temperature and because they're not making rational decisions in their mind, it's to remove their clothing and cool themselves down," he says.

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The bizarre side effects of synthetic drugs