Tagged: bath salts

Last week, Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente, asked the County Board of Legislators to adopt a countywide ban on the compounds used in a new breed of drugs commonly known as "bath salts."   The move comes as law makers and law enforcement – on the local, state and federal level - struggle to find ways to fight the rapid rise of synthetic drugs. Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente spoke with WAMC's Ray Graf.

Police in Utica spent the Fourth of July responding to two calls of people under the influence of bath salts, a drug that has become a growing problem across the country, but especially in parts of central New York where at least seven cases, including one fatality, have been reported since June. Madison County lawmakers have called on state officials to take immediate action, and there is discussion of a local law to make bath salts illegal. Madison County health director Eric Faisst says local law enforcement and health officials recently met to discuss bath salts.