A new drug is hitting the streets from the Deep South to California and it's got some pretty terrifying side effects. According to the New York Daily News, some of those fancy bath salts you use for aromatic, tub-based relaxation may contain the stimulants mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MPDV) and reportedly give an even more psychotic meth-like high when snorted, injected or smoked.

The home spa supplies make for a readily available drug with relaxing-sounding street names like "Bliss", "White Lightning" and "Vanilla Sky". Don't be fooled though, when used in a manner not intended by the manufacturer (meaning: putting them up your nose instead of in your tub) they cause the opposite of relaxation: suicidal tendencies, intense hallucinations and paranoia. One prolific drug users who had tried "every drug from heroin to crack" got so high on the bath salts that he attempted to slit his face with a skinning knife. Other users and witnesses have reported psychotic episodes lasting for three days after use.

Although this is the first we're hearing of the impending Bath Salt epidemic, California Poison Control System has responded to "a handful of calls" about the substances since last October. In Louisiana, where the state poison control center got over 125 calls in the last few months of 2010, the state has already outlawed the sale of the substances by way of emergency order.

[NY Daily News] via [Gawker]