By Schmoll/ Helton (Web)
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkms/local-wkms-948961.mp3
Paducah, KY – A new drug has taken to the market in McCracken County. Already, 10 people have been hospitalized after exposure to what people are calling legal, synthetic cocaine. The products are being labeled as bath salts and when consumed give the user a stimulate like high. David Schmoll learns more with McCracken County Sheriff Jon Hayden.
Bath salts are sold in convenience stores throughout McCracken County, where an alarming number of people are being hospitalized after consuming the substance, says McCracken Sheriff Jon Hayden.
The "high," users claim, is very much like the high experienced by consuming methamphetamine. Some of the symptoms caused by the bath salts are high heart rate, hallucinations, sleeplessness, and delirium.
McCracken County police are still trying to educate themselves on what the drug is and what it does when taken, says Hayden.
Since our interview with Hayden, the Kentucky House Judiciary Committee cleared a bill that would ban the manufacture, possession and distribution of the product. The bill is now awaiting a vote on the House floor.