ELKHART — Bath salts aren’t just for relaxing stints in the tub anymore.

Sgt. Mike McHenry of the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department said a synthetic drug of the same name, already the focus of national anti-drug activists, is filtering into the local drug scene.

“They sell them as a bath salt, but they consume them for a high,” he said.

For now, Chicago seems to be the closest place where the drug — still legal here in Indiana — can be found. It’s also available online, though, and while he doesn’t report an outbreak, McHenry is aware of a handful of local incidents involving the substance in the last one or two years.

“The young kids are talking about it,” he said, speaking at a gathering Wednesday of the Family Community Resource Network, a loose coalition of officials from non-profit agencies, schools and other entities that work with kids. He called the substance “a problem in other states and it’s coming our way.”

Another synthetic drug that’s generated plenty of attention, K2 or spice, is still out there, he said, with perhaps a case a week involving the substance coming to sheriff’s officials’ attention. But consumption seems to have waned since it was outlawed by Indiana lawmakers last year.

“You still see it, but they’re getting it from out of state,” said McHenry, noting its availability in nearby Michigan. “They’re also getting it online.”

‘Miraculous relaxation!’

As with K2 and spice, marketed as a type of incense but actually smoked by users to achieve a high, bath salts are marketed one way but actually used another.

A website offering bath salts describes them as an additive to the tub.

“What can be better than taking a wonderful bath filled with this magical salt after a stressful day at work?” gushes the site. “As a result you get a miraculous relaxation!”

In reality, though, users buy the substance and snort it to get high, McHenry said. He said the drug can make users seemingly go out of control.

“One person will not hold one of these persons down or control them,” he said.

The website of Above the Influence, an anti-drug initiative affiliated with the Office of National Drug Control Policy, says bath salts contain amphetamine-like chemicals and can cause hallucinations. The substance is illegal in a “growing” number of U.S. states.

“Though the name may sound harmless, bath salts are a dangerous synthetic stimulant that carry the risk of easy overdose, hallucinations and even death,” said Above the Influence.

Otherwise, McHenry said alcohol remains the most commonly abused drug among teens and younger users, the focus of his presentation. Also problematic is use of marijuana and prescription drugs like Vicodin, a pain reliever; Xanax, used to treat anxiety; and Ritalin, used to address attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Abuse of prescription drugs is “a trend that’s grown regularly over the last three to four years,” McHenry said.

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