What It Is: The name "bath salts" sounds innocent, but these are powerful and dangerous stimulant drugs. Sometimes Called: bloom, cloud nine, flakka, scarface, vanilla sky, and white lightning How It's Used: Bath salts are sold as a white or off-white powder, mostly in small plastic or foil packages. The drugs are usually snorted (sniffed up a nostril). They also can be swallowed, smoked, or mixed with a liquid and injected with a syringe. What It Does: Bath salts contain manmade chemicals that increase brain and central nervous system activity in much the same way as drugs like amphetamines or MDMA (ecstasy). Bath salts can cause users to have an out-of-body experience, elated mood, or feel delirious. These effects can last up to 3–4 hours. Other short-term effects include: agitation and irritability insomnia dizziness panic attacks depression suicidal thoughts paranoia delusions and hallucinations distorted sense of reality decreased ability to think clearly mood disturbances and psychosis Physical effects of bath salts include: decreased muscle and body control increased blood pressure and body temperature chest pains irregular heartbeat nosebleeds feeling sick and throwing up seizures stroke heart attack brain swelling Users can also develop what is called "excited delirium." When this happens, people get dehydrated, their muscle tissue breaks down, and they can go into kidney failure and die. Long-term abuse of bath salts may cause people to have hallucinations, hear voices, feel paranoid, and develop a psychosis that resembles schizophrenia. People who use bath salts easily can get addicted to them. They may feel driven to do whatever they can to keep getting high, including taking risks. Bath salts can cause heart problems and seizures. Taking too much of the drug at one time can lead to an overdose. All these things can be deadly, even if someone only tries the drug once. Bath salts have caused a number of deaths and been blamed for a handful of suicides and murders. Two of the chemicals in bath salts (mephedrone and MDPV) are Schedule I class drugs. That means they have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. People who are caught with bath salts can face fines and jail time. Back to Articles Related Articles Drugs: What to Know It's not hard to find drugs, and sometimes it may seem like everyone's doing them or wanting you to do them. But there are downsides (and dangers) to taking drugs. Read More Dealing With Addiction Find out what you can do if you think you or a friend has a drug or alcohol addiction - from recognizing the warning signs to suggestions to help you stay clean. Read More 5 Ways to Cope When a Loved One Dies We all face grief at some point. Here are 5 ideas that might help you cope when someone you love has died. Read More Amphetamines Amphetamines are stimulants that speed up brain and body functions. Find out how these drugs can affect you in this article for teens. Read More Cocaine Cocaine is a powerful and highly addictive stimulant drug. Find out more about cocaine and its effects. Read More GHB GHB is an illegal drug that slows down some of the processes in the brain and central nervous system. Because it causes memory loss and is easily slipped into drinks, it's known as a "date rape" drug. Read More Ketamine Ketamine is a fast-acting and powerful anesthetic that is often used as a date rape drug. Find out more in this article for teens. Read More Methamphetamine (Meth) Meth is a powerful stimulant drug that's extremely addictive and destructive. Find out how it works and why it's smart to avoid it. Read More Rohypnol Rohypnol is a powerful sedative that has a reputation as a "date rape" drug. Find out more about it in this article for teens. Read More Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor. © 1995-2021 KidsHealth®. All rights reserved. Images provided by The Nemours Foundation, iStock, Getty Images, Veer, Shutterstock, and Clipart.com.