Ban Bath Salts

Here's the scene:

Young man walks into your local bath supply store and purchases some bath salts. While in the checkout line, he casually mentions they're for him and his girlfriend. The cashier laughs it off. After all, why would she be concerned or think anything of it? He hands the cashier a wrinkled twenty dollar bill, collects his change and off he goes. After he gets into his car, he takes the straw out of his to-go cup and rips open the package. There's no bathtub here and he doesn't intend to relax with these. He snorts them and waits for the forthcoming buzz.

Why is this a concern? According to the story from Channel 5 ( http://www.wmctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13892153 ), the use of these bath salts for criminal purposes is on the rise. Not only are these people damaging their bodies but the effects of these salts can lead to suicidal thoughts and massive hallucinations. Neil Brown recounts to Action News 5 that he "took his skinning knife and slit his face and stomach repeatedly." While he survived, he now must live with the psychological and physical trauma.

I'm not sure where this "fad" originated but it goes without saying that this a growing and HUGE problem. I don't typically want or feel the need to encourage the federal government to get involved on things but this needs to be dealt with. I'm calling for the United States Government to ban the use and sale of these to any individual. If people feel that they need these for beauty treatments, then they can go to their local salon or massage parlor to partake.

Hopefully it won't take many more people to die before the government takes action here. But we also need to get the word out to our friends and constituents. Prevention starts at home.