N.J. Legislators Sponsor Bill To Ban 'Bath Salts'

As new details emerge about Bill Parisio, a Cranford man accused of slaying his girlfriend, Pamela Schmidt, in his family's Greaves Street Avenue home in March, some local lawmakers have introduced legislation to ban a new drug known as "bath salts."

Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Fanwood) has introduced legislation to ban Methylenedioxypyrovalerone, better known as MDVP, the primary drug in bath salts, in the state. In drug circles, the drug earned its nickname because it visually resembles therapeutic salts used in home tubs and spas.

Those, available in convenience stores and smoke shops around the state, have been blamed by Dianne Parisio, the mother of Bill Parisio, as contributing to her son’s erratic behavior in the days leading up to the killing. In previous reports, Mrs. Parisio said her son began using the drug in December.

“It is a stimulant drug with very erratic and intense impact,” Stender said, noting that she and Assemblyman John McKeon (D-West Orange) drafted the bill prior to the Schmidt slaying.

Steven Marcus, the medical director of the New Jersey Poison Control Center, said that he has found a total of 10 reported cases of bath-salts use in New Jersey.  Statistics from the American Association of Poison Control Centers show 1,403 reported cases of bath salt overdoses in the U.S. since late 2010. A spokeswoman for the AAPCC said overdoses have been reported in 47 states and the District of Columbia, adding that no deaths have been attributed to the drug and that nobody accused of committing a homicide attributed their actions to being high on bath salts.

Marcus said that many of the symptoms can mimic other drugs and tests have to be conducted for MDVP use. He said tests are currently being refined to determine evidence of MDVP in the bloodstream.

Marcus said MDVP started in Europe several years ago, growing in popularity, which resulted in it being banned in the United Kingdom. He said poison-control centers had been monitoring it worldwide and saw it come to the United States late last year, starting in Louisiana. Marcus said it was not known why it gained popularity in Louisiana, but its "high" is consistent with methamphetamine, which is a cheap, popular drug in the rural U.S.

Its use here may have coincided with tougher security over over-the-counter cold medicines in U.S. pharmacies. People who create methamphetamine in makeshift labs use the over-the-counter cold medicines as cheap ingredients for their drugs. Most drugstores now store the cold medicines behind the prescription-drug counter. As a result, bath salts began to circulate nationally in late 2010 in rural areas where it was used as a cheap "high." A 500 mg pack general sells for $30; websites popular with drug users indicate that a single dose ranges from 50mg to 100mg.

Published reports have shown a jump in the use of bath salts nationally since Jan. 1. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal became the first state official to ban MDVP, directing the state Department of Health and Hospitals to issue an emergency order placing the substance on the state’s drug list in January. The decision was made following the state’s health department seeing the sudden rise in cases. Jindal announced plans to introduce a bill to make the ban part of state law on Thursday morning.

MDVP is difficult to track because it's not regulated by the federal Food and Drug Administration or even considered a drug. The FDA, along with the DEA and the Office of National Drug Control Policy have issued warning regarding MDVP use since January. Stender said that during research for the bill she was startled by the effects MDVP can have on users.

“The thing that struck me about it, is that the active ingredient has no legitimate medical purpose,” she said. “It is a stimulant that should be used for that purpose. It has a Russian roulette range. Someone may get a raging heart while someone else has psychotic events.”

Marcus agreed, saying that he is not aware of any historical use of MDVP for medical purposes. He did agree with Stender on the range of impact.

“We have people run down the street screaming,” Marcus said of a potential impact. “You get that agitated delirium.”

Stender said other actions she has come across has those high on MDVP committing self-mutilation and participating in assault.

Because bath salts are neither illegal nor advertised as a drug, they are easy to attain through convenience stores and other locations. The law-enforcement source said the items even can be disguised as actual bath salts. The source would not disclose nearby locations where bath salts are for sale.

Stender said her research showed that many stores near the Rutgers in New Brunswick has several brands of bath salts available. Parisio claimed on his LinkedIn page that he would be graduating from Rutgers in the spring, but he apparently has been out of school this semester as he had been checked into a substance-abuse facility.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has introduced a federal ban on bath salts. U.S. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) announced support for Schumer’s measure. Stender said it is too early to say if her bill will pass in New Jersey, since she and McKeon have just filed it, but it is beginning to gain support on the Republican side of the aisle. Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), the ranking minority member of the Law and Public Safety Committee, said based on the information he has heard regarding MDVP he is leaning towards supporting the bill. The bill is likely to go before the public safety committee.

Marcus said those creating the drugs have shown patterns for finding a new way around the law.

“Until we can find a way to get ahead of it, I don’t known if we can get ahead of it,” he said. “Substance abuse is a real serious problem. “We have not figured out a way to deal with it in a proactive way.”

Michelle Walbaum and David Chmiel contributed to this article.