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N.J. detects drop in 2 designer drugs

Statistics tracked by the New Jersey Attorney General's Office suggest that use of the designer drugs known as bath salts and synthetic marijuana has significantly declined since the state recently banned them.

Statistics tracked by the New Jersey Attorney General's Office suggest that use of the designer drugs known as bath salts and synthetic marijuana has significantly declined since the state recently banned them.

Reports of bath salts to New Jersey's poison hotline have declined by 66 percent and synthetic marijuana by 33 percent, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Exposure to bath salts was first reported to the state's poison control center in January 2011, with incidents increasing through the following April, when the state cracked down on the drug. This year, there have been 18 reported cases through Aug. 31, compared with 53 cases during the same eight-month period last year, according to the Attorney General's Office.

"Before we took action to ban these dangerous drugs in New Jersey, they were sold as a so-called legal high by shady retailers with no regard for their catastrophic side effects," Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa said in a statement.

New Jersey was among the first states to ban bath salts, which officials said caused violent reactions among some users, who ended up in emergency rooms after they smoked, inhaled, or injected the drugs. Authorities reported that some users experienced extreme paranoia and hallucinations, self-mutilation and suicidal thoughts. Some of the more extreme cases were gruesome attacks on others.

Bath salts are not to be confused with Epsom or other soothing salts added to bath water that can be purchased at drugstores. The designer drugs are packaged with names such as "Down2Earth" and "Kamikaze," and had been and sold at businesses including truck stops or convenience stores.

The state added six synthetic chemicals used to make the drugs to a list of controlled dangerous substances, making possession and sales illegal, consistent with penalties for marijuana possession. Bath salts provide a high similar to cocaine or methamphetamines.

Synthetic marijuana, also made through a combination of chemicals and sold under names including K2 and Spice, had been the third most commonly abused drug by high school seniors, behind marijuana and prescription drugs, according to a 2011 study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The state banned it in February.

Side effects include violent seizures, dangerously elevated heart rates, and hallucinations, officials said.

The Attorney General's Office reported that from March 1 through Aug. 31, the poison control center received 46 calls from emergency rooms, doctor's offices and private residences regarding the use of synthetic marijuana, compared with 69 cases during the same six-month period last year.

The State Police Office of Forensic Science reported a 77 percent decline in the number of synthetic-marijuana incidents submitted by law enforcement, while the number of drug submissions overall is up about 10 percent over last year.

In March, the office received 83 samples of synthetic marijuana substances submitted for testing by law enforcement, compared with 19 submissions to the office in July.