Just when you thought that taking a nice, long hot bath was a relaxing experience, think again. According to U. S. White House appointed Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske the buying of some bath salts is being used for people to achieve an amphetamine-like high.

Two substances found in some bath salts called MDPV and mephedrone are being called ‘designer drugs’ by police since there are no laws governing their sale or use, yet they give similar effects to illicit drugs and have been linked to deaths across the U. S.

These two substances are unlicensed and unregulated in most states though some states such as Hawaii, Louisiana and Michigan have started to crack down on their usage. Europe and Australia have already seen these bath salt substances spread like wildfire with many deaths associated with ingestion.

Because the molecular structure of these “bath salts” is slightly different that illicit and banned substances, manufacturers have been getting away with selling these designer drugs under names like bath salts, plant food, or research chemicals.

Australia and New Zealand have banned many of these designer drugs based upon chemical structure, so that any substance that is substantially similar to an illicit drug on a molecular level is banned. The U. S. has yet to catch up on this kind of crackdown.