Bath salts have been in the news for months now, but just what is this innocuous sounding drug, and how does it work?
MDVP (aka “bath salts”) was recently banned in the US, but this ban has been hard to enact, because those who were selling it claimed it wasn’t for human consumption. That loophole is how kids were able to get their hands on this dangerous psychoactive drug legally, and store owners could feign ignorance, suggesting that if kids (or adults) “misuse” the substance, they are not to blame. Some of those same clerks were caught on hidden camera giving customers instructions on how to ingest the drug.
The substance belongs to a class of drugs called cathinones, a natural source of which is the East African plant khat. Users report that it is a powerful mind-altering substance. Experts are quick to warn of the psychiatric and medical dangers of the drug, saying users report intense and unpleasant visual hallucinations after a short binge. The drug feels non-toxic with its first use, but after a moderate binge users suffer mild to moderate paranoia. One in ten individuals who use higher doses achieve a sustained psychotic state with intense anxiety that lasts from three to seven days.
MDPV may even be linked to a recent murder in Belize, where Internet pioneer John McAfee’s neighbor was shot to death. McAfee has since disappeared, despite police requests to question him. The crime and the billionaire’s bizarre behavior following it have brought to light McAfee’s alleged use of MDPV.
Officials insist McAfee is not a suspect, but he and his neighbor had a contentious relationship that may have come to a head when four of McAfee’s dogs were poisoned prior to the murder. CNN reported that McAfee has become estranged from his fellow expatriates in recent years, as his behavior became increasingly erratic. Some attribute this to his fondness for bath salts.
In 2010, McAfee reportedly began posting on a message board about his attempts to purify the drug, admitting in one post, “I'm a huge fan of MDPV.” McAfee's intensive use of MDVP could explain his growing estrangement and reported paranoia. He has reportedly been blogging from an undisclosed location and told a reporter for Wired that he did not kill his neighbor. McAfee founded the Internet security company that bears his name but left it in 1994. The neighbor who was murdered recently filed a formal complaint against McAfee with the mayor's office, asserting that McAfee had fired off guns and exhibited "roguish behavior."
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