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The Science Behind Bath Salts

SpiritualHerbs via Flickr Creative Commons

Last spring, we heard a series of stories of bizarre and violent crimes attributed to people high on the street drug “bath salts.” in Florida, police shot a man who was cannibalizing another man’s face – and a mother tore off her clothes and assaulted her three-year-old son.  Although neither crime has been definitively linked to the deceptively-named street drug, they ignited conversations about the production and complicated legal status of ‘bath salts'. What we have not yet heard about is the chemical composition of the drug, nor how it effects the brain and body of users.  Jenny Marder is a producer and reporter at PBS newshour – her article “The Drug That Never Lets Go” reports on what researchers are uncovering about a stimulant unlike any ever seen. 

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