Synthetic cathinones commonly known as bath salts

The Synthetic cathinones commonly known as bath salts available for sale online. Purpose: Bath salts are a potent class of designer drugs associated with significant medical and psychiatric consequences. The purpose of the present study was to examine how the internet is used to obtain bath salts and how different search terms affect the proportion of websites selling these drugs.

  Methods: Google searches were used to determine bath salts availability on retail websites, including how different search terms affected the proportion of sites that were selling bath salts.

Retail websites were reviewed by two independent raters who examined content with a focus on characteristics that increase the likelihood of online sales.

Results: Bath salt manufacturers are using various platforms, including social media and “underground” markets, to aid in distribution. However, they also have numerous retail sites on major e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, eBay and Craigslist.

Conclusion:  Retail websites often have advertisements for bath salts with keywords suggestive of recreational use but also may advertise products absent any information about what these products are or how they should be used; users should be aware that such advertisements may lead to hazardous drug purchases online.

Bath salts, a popular name for the designer drug methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), have been associated with significant medical and psychiatric consequences. In an effort to understand this growing public health concern, we surveyed potential online sellers of bath salts via Google search engines. On retail websites, we’ve examined Synthetic cathinones commonly known as bath salts.