Vermont Senator recoils at ban on ‘bath salts’

Federal law enforcement authorities eager to remove a deadly array of toxic, synthetic drugs known as “bath salts” off the streets, say they are frustrated that bureaucratic politics interfered with congressional lawmakers drafting a comprehensive ban. A law enforcement source familiar with the congressional negations said, “Bath salts are the worst of the worst of the synthetic drugs. It makes no sense why they aren’t all included in the bill.” The omission of some elements used in bath salts has led some lawmakers to accuse their colleagues, specifically Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, Vermont Democrat, of choosing political expediency over public safety.

Last week, a conference of House and Senate lawmakers agreed to ban just two variants of bath salts, leading authorities to wonder why only limited steps were taken. The Drug Enforcement Administration recently submitted a list of 41 synthetic drugs it wanted Congress to place on the “Schedule I” list of federally criminalized drugs, which includes cocaine, meth, and heroin. Among those were 17 chemicals used to produce bath salts, a stimulant believed to have played a role in a wave of gruesome incidents including a May assault in Florida in which an attacker, allegedly high on bath salts, chewed off a homeless man’s face.