The category of designer drugs known as “bath salts” includes synthetic cathinones such as 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and 4-methylmethcathinone (mephedrone). Some designer drugs offer the possibility of enhancing mood in beneficial ways. Unfortunately, bath salts are a class of drug that has many harmful effects. These are some of the harmful side effects that have been reported with these drugs:
acute kidney injury
aggression
agitation
cardiac arrest
chest pain
death
delirium
dependence
hallucinations
hypertension
memory impairment
methaemoglobinaemia
myoclonus
organ failure
palpitations
paranoia
posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome
psychosis
seizures
serotonin syndrome
spontaneous subcutaneous emphysema
tachycardia
References:
4-Methylmethcathinone (mephedrone): neuropharmacological effects of a designer stimulant of abuse. (Link)
A case of extreme agitation and death after the use of mephedrone in The Netherlands. (Link)
“A costly turn on”: patterns of use and perceived consequences of mephedrone based head shop products amongst Irish injectors. (Link)
“Bath salt” ingestion leading to severe intoxication delirium: two cases and a brief review of the emergence of mephedrone use. (Link)
Bath salts: an emerging danger. (Link)
“Bath Salts” and “Plant Food” Products: the Experience of One Regional US Poison Center. (Link)
Case series of individuals with analytically confirmed acute mephedrone toxicity. (Link)
Clinical characteristics of mephedrone toxicity reported to the U.K. National Poisons Information Service. (Link)
Clinical experience with and analytical confirmation of “bath salts” and “legal highs” (synthetic cathinones) in the United States. (Link)
Clinical pattern of toxicity associated with the novel synthetic cathinone mephedrone. (Link)
Cognitive and subjective effects of mephedrone and factors influencing use of a ‘new legal high’. (Link)
Comparison of the behavioral and cardiovascular effects of mephedrone with other drugs of abuse in rats. (Link)
Death following recreational use of designer drug “bath salts” containing 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV). (Link)
Dependence and psychosis with 4-methylmethcathinone (mephedrone) use. (Link)
Emergency department visits after use of a drug sold as “bath salts”–Michigan, November 13, 2010-March 31, 2011. (Link)
Hyperthermia and multiorgan failure after abuse of “bath salts” containing 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone. (Link)
Illicit bath salts: not for bathing. (Link)
Mephedrone (‘bath salt’) elicits conditioned place preference and dopamine-sensitive motor activation. (Link)
Mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone) and intracranial self-stimulation in C57BL/6J mice: Comparison to cocaine. (Link)
Mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone)-related deaths. (Link)
Mephedrone, a new designer drug of abuse, produces acute hemodynamic effects in the rat. (Link)
Mephedrone, compared with MDMA (ecstasy) and amphetamine, rapidly increases both dopamine and 5-HT levels in nucleus accumbens of awake rats. (Link)
Methaemoglobinaemia due to mephedrone (‘snow’). (Link)
Paranoid psychosis induced by consumption of methylenedioxypyrovalerone: two cases. (Link)
Pharmacological characterization of designer cathinones in vitro. (Link)
Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) complicating the ‘legal high’ mephedrone. (Link)
Potent rewarding and reinforcing effects of the synthetic cathinone 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV). (Link)
Psychosis from a Bath Salt Product Containing Flephedrone and MDPV with Serum, Urine, and Product Quantification. (Link)
Psychotic disorders related with chronic use of mephedrone. Case report. (Link)
Recreational use of mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone, 4-MMC) with associated sympathomimetic toxicity. (Link)
Recurrent acute kidney injury following bath salts intoxication. (Link)
Serotonin syndrome associated with MDPV use: a case report. (Link)
Spontaneous subcutaneous emphysema associated with mephedrone usage. (Link)
Suspected and confirmed fatalities associated with mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone, “meow meow”) in the United kingdom. (Link)
The serotonin syndrome as a result of mephedrone toxicity. (Link)
