A toxic substance currently legal on Canadian streets will soon face a different fate, with the federal government announcing plans to criminalize an ingredient in the illicit drug known as bath salts.
MDPV, or methylenedioxypyrovalerone, is a key ingredient in the bath salts, which resembles traditional bath salts sold in drug stores.
Individuals on the drug – a white or off-white crystalline-like powder that can be eaten, smoked, snorted or injected – have experienced hallucinations, convulsions, paranoia and violence to themselves and others.
“It has not come to our attention yet, but that doesn’t mean it’s not accessible to people,” said St. Albert RCMP Cpl. Laurel Kading. “If there are people who are looking for certain types of drugs, they will find them.”
Two other ingredients in bath salts – mephedrone and methylone – are illegal under Section III of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CSDA).
Although there have been no reported cases in St. Albert, the drug has already raised concern in Edmonton.
Det. Guy Pilon with the Edmonton Police Service’s drug section said there have been three cases of individuals overdosing on bath salts.
“The consequences are often lethal,” he said, noting the drug first appeared in the Edmonton area in the early 2000s.
Kading couldn’t comment officially on whether she thinks the drug will come to St. Albert but said the close proximity to Edmonton’s capital city has little barrier for users.
Sgt. Lorne Adamitz with “K” Division’s Drugs and Organized Crime Awareness Services said the drug has been monitored for the last three years and usage is “sporadic and isolated” throughout Alberta.
He said, however, the drug is somewhat prominent in the Maritimes and Ontario.
“We have a significant industry where people come from the east and are employed in Alberta,” he said. “Anytime people can make a profit, they will exploit it.”
Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, announced Tuesday that the Canadian government intends to criminalize MDPV under the CSDA.
The intent is to include the substance alongside heroin and cocaine in Schedule I of the CSDA, prohibiting possession, trafficking or production of the drug.
“This action helps give law enforcement the tools they need to keep our streets and communities safe from this new and emerging drug that ruins lives and causes havoc in communities across the country,” she said in a press release.
The public has until July 2012 to comment on the plan. If no new evidence emerges, the drug is expected to be made illegal this fall.
Adamitz said individuals currently found in possession of bath salts could still face charges because the drug often contains a combination of substances.
He said he supports an outright ban on the substance.
“It is marketing to attract the young generation for the profit of those who are unscrupulous,” he said.
Aside from facing criminal charges, he said people should be more concerned with consequences of drug use.
“If you’re manufacturing happiness, if you have to snort it, smoke it, inject it, ingest it … it ultimately leads to sadness or death,” he said. “You’re playing with a chemical and you’re playing with your body chemistry and the chemicals of your brain, which could lead to life-altering and deadly consequences.”
The Drugs and Organized Crime Awareness Services division asked head shops around the province roughly two years ago if they were selling bath salts. He said there were no known sellers and St. Albert’s Chad 420 Smoke Shop confirmed it does not sell and does not intend to sell the drug.
