New Jersey Senate Passes Bill to Ban Bath Salts

Synthetic drugs known as bath salts would be banned under a bill passed by the New Jersey Senate. The bill would make it a crime to possess or sell chemicals used to make bath salts, which mimic the effects of cocaine and methamphetamines, the Associated Press reports.

The bill must pass the New Jersey Assembly and be signed by Governor Chris Christie before it becomes law. In April, the state’s Attorney General classified the chemicals used to make bath salts as controlled dangerous substances, the AP reports.

Bath salts are sold at head shops and on the Internet with names such as Zoom and White Rush. These products also have been labeled as plant food and pond water cleaner and are sold in ways designed to elude detection or enforcement. Bath salts can cause symptoms including agitation, rapid heartbeat, hallucinations and seizures.

A number of states have recently banned bath salts, including North Carolina and New York.