America's New Drug Problem: 'Snorting Bath Salts'

America’s New Drug Problem: Snorting ‘Bath Salts’

I saw this headline on Foxnews.com this morning (01/24/2011) and thought the same as many of you probably did: “What will they think of next?” As the article states: “….these are not your average bath salts that you pour into the bathtub to soak in after a long, hard day to relax -- these so-called bath salts are intended to be snorted, smoked or injected – and users are getting high off of them.”

The article goes on to mention that “…. the effects of these salts are comparable to methamphetamine abuse , according to poison control centers and other law enforcement agencies.” That means that “….the powders often contain …..(chemicals)….. that can cause hallucinations, paranoia, rapid heart rates and suicidal thoughts.” The article reports Self-mutilation, deaths and other horrible things have already occurred. Yet, as with methamphetamine and other vicious drugs, “…even though it’s a horrible trip, they want to do it again and again.”

The catch is that the products are sold legally, in convenience stores and on the internet. Some states are beginning to consider laws to ban the sale of these powders and, in my opinion, rightly so. However, do you see the trend here? One drug gets outlawed, it goes underground to the black market, and someone finds another substance to adulterate or combine with something else (as in methamphetamine) in order get themselves off on another “trip.” My conclusion? As long as there are people addicted to solutions to problems outside themselves, new drugs or other destructive substances or behaviors will be discovered, developed or invented.

Legislators and law enforcement certainly need to do their best to keep up with the ever-changing face of drugs and crime. However, with the 21 plus years of experience I’ve seen in dealing with addictions and other self-defeating behaviors, I have been repeatedly convinced that the real solution lies in individual self-government.

Individual self-government starts to be learned at home, in strong, supportive families , where individual self-worth is fostered and productive ways of handling problems and challenges are taught and modeled. Strong support by schools, churches and other value-based organizations are a great back-up. Yes, drug education that truly educates individuals on how and why drugs and other negative behaviors are self-destructive, so that they can come to their own accurate conclusions, has been shown to significantly help prevent undesirable choices about drug use.

Life’s events do occur, with and without our help, and often strong emotions are left in their wake. Without effective tools to handle these events, this emotional “baggage” tends to remain with us and affects our ability to make optimal decisions about other aspects of our lives.

Fortunately, newly incorporated concepts of energy psychology, much of it learned from eastern philosophy, are showing more effectiveness in helping individuals to free themselves from this negative “baggage.” One of these concepts is called EFT ( Emotional Freedom Techniques ) which is a kind of energy tapping on ourselves, at energy meridian points, with our fingertips. It’s like emotional acupuncture without the needles.

Yet, helping people appropriately handle the negative forces in life is only half the battle. The most important part is helping them learn how to embrace the values, attitudes and concepts that will help them succeed. We really are what we think and will attract what we think and feel deep down inside. There is much knowledge to be had to help us in this arena and discovering our true identity and purpose in life is part of that knowledge. Some of the energy-related concepts just mentioned can help solidify our grasp and use of this knowledge.

In conclusion, I submit that moving ourselves and others (including our children) toward worthy and productive values and goals is key in keeping the ravages of illicit drug use and related behaviors to a minimum.