It’s been on the streets for years, but Calgary police now suspect they have their first case of a man reacting violently to bath salts.
Police were called to a home in Bridlewood at around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
The parents of a 21-year-old had called 911 when their son started lashing out and behaving strangely.
Police believe the man took the drug MDPV or mephedrone, disguised as bath salts.
The drug causes hallucinations, paranoia, and violent behaviour.
He was taken to hospital and treated.
MDPV started popping up in Canada a few years ago and it’s dangerous because it’s currently not regulated under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Users typically snort, smoke, or inject it.
The federal health minister recently announced plan to list MDPV on Schedule 1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, placing it in the same category as heroin and cocaine.
That would make possessing, trafficking, importing, exporting, and producing MDPV illegal.
This is the first suspected case of the drug in Alberta and Toronto police may also be dealing with its first reported case involving the drug.
Toronto police say a package labeled bath salts was seized during a massive drug bust over the weekend.
Toronto’s Organized Crime Enforcement Gun and Gang Task Force executed three search warrants on Sunday, seizing various drugs worth an estimated $1.5 million. Police also seized $175,000 is cash and an assortment of firearms.
“There was also a package that was taken in for testing labeled bath salts,” Const. Tony Vella told CP24.
Vella said he couldn’t speculate on what the package contained until conclusive test results come back.
If that substance turns out to be bath salts, it will be the first arrest in Toronto related to the new drug since it began making headlines in connection to a gruesome May attack in Miami, in which one man chewed the flesh off another man’s face.
MDPV, or methylenedioxypyrovalerone, is a synthetic amphetamine that delivers a powerful high. It is also known to cause dangerous side effects, such as violent hallucinations, fear and can lead to a feeling of paranoia.
The drug has earned the nickname "bath salts" because the finished product resembles the scented bath products found in many Canadian homes.
The federal government moved to ban bath salts earlier this month – placing it under the same regulations as cocaine and heroin.
(with files from ctvnews.ca)
