The designer drug " Bath Salts " that mimics the high users get from cocaine or methamphetamine ; can be legally purchased and is increasing in popularity throughout the nation and in the Miami Valley, according to law enforcement officials. WHIO TV reported that bath salts are likely to blame for five deaths and seven other OVI accidents. Bath salts are legal street drugs that cause hallucinations. Doctors at the crime lab and the coroner's office said they have seen 12 cases directly related to bath salt abuse in recent weeks. Doctors said it's becoming a serious issue that has to stop. Dr. Kent Harshbarger with the coroner's office said, "We have confirmed three bath salts-related deaths." In all the cases, the moments before death are similar. "They can no longer control their behaviors and then either cause harm to themselves by driving a vehicle or in that violent struggle cause harm to themselves that leads to death," Harshbarger said. Experts said the high from the drug can drive an adrenaline-fueled aggression and can lead to various deadly behaviors. The term bath salts refers to a range of water-soluble, usually inorganic solid products designed to be added to a bath. These synthetic stimulants are marketed as "concentrated bath salts " . The Miami Valley Hospital emergency department has seen about one bath salts case a day since the second week of April , according to hospital officials .
