8 Jun 2012
A man was arrested last week by officers from the Austin PD for allegedly assaulting an EMS worker. The police were summoned by an anonymous call claiming that the man had jumped off the Lamar Boulevard Bridge over Lady Bird Lake. He then stripped off his shirt and pants and ran down a hiking trail. In the process, the caller stated, the man claimed he was God, and later stated he was the devil. One of the officers called for EMS assistance, asserting that the man was high on “bath salts.”
Jumping off a bridge violates a city ordinance, but the arrest, for kicking one of the summoned EMS workers, was for assault. And because the assault was on an EMS worker, it is a third degree felony, punishable by imprisonment for between two and ten years.
An interesting case from a legal point of view, but what we wanted to talk about here is bath salts. We’ve all heard over the years about new substances emerging into the illegal drug market – designer drugs, ecstasy, “roofies”, etc. – but bath salts? Well, late last month, it was reported that a naked Miami man was shot dead by police after he refused to stop chewing on another man’s face on a busy highway ramp. The alleged culprit – bath salts again.
We always thought bath salts were for the bath, maybe a combination of Epsom salts, baking soda and table salt. We’ve discovered, however, that there is apparently a substance in some products sold today as bath salts, known as methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV). It’s a psychoactive drug whose stimulant properties are reportedly four times that of Ritalin. It also produces paranoia, agitation, hallucinations and suicidal behavior.
Until last year, MDPV was not classified as an illegal drug in Texas or under federal law. It is now a penalty group 2 drug in Texas. On the federal level, in October 2011 the DEA issued an emergency order which banned MDPV for one year, and classified it as a Schedule I drug. Schedule I is reserved for drugs with a high potential for abuse and no medically recognized treatment use.
One of the problems with attempting to control these and similar drugs under the criminal law is that there are street chemists who continually develop new derivatives. Moreover, some of these drugs are not detectable in a standard drug screening. Between new drugs being created, and marketing them as products, like bath salts, which are not designed for human consumption, many substances have been able to remain “under the radar” for years.
As a result of the recent headlines, this Austin drug crimes lawyer expects this is not the last we’ll hear of bath salts.
Law Office of David D. White, PLLC
1205 Rio Grande Street
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 369-3737