BATH SALTS: It's not a fad...It's a NIGHTMARE.: U.S. NAVY VIDEO

NAVY CAMPAIGN TO DETER DESIGNER DRUG USE

121220-N-ZZ999-005 WASHINGTON (Dec. 20, 2011) An informational poster produced by the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery about the designer drug known as "Bath Salts". (U.S. Navy photo illustration/Released)

FROM: U.S. NAVY

Navy Medicine Rolls Out New Campaign to Deter 'Bath Salts' Designer Drug UseBy Valerie A. Kremer, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Public Affairs

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (NNS) -- Navy Medicine announced the launch of a new informational video and poster regarding the health risks and dangers of the synthetic amphetamine known as "bath salts" and other designer drugs, Dec. 20.

The public service announcement video and poster will be distributed for display throughout the fleet and are available for download at http://www.med.navy.mil/Pages/Syntheticdrugs.aspx.
The new media products focus on the dangers of bath salts and are part of the long-term awareness and deterrence campaign Navy Medicine launched last year on synthetic and designer drugs. This effort is also part of an overall Navy communications plan with partners at the Naval Personnel Command and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and other commands.

The education and awareness campaign from Navy Medicine supports the Navy's zero-tolerance policy on designer drug use, as well as highlights the real and present risks of bath salts. The campaign's goal is to decrease the number of active-duty service members who use designer drugs like bath salts and the synthetic marijuana "Spice" because they are falsely marketed as a "legal" way to get high.

According to Navy Medicine psychiatry resident Lt. George Loeffler at the Naval Medical Center San Diego,, the adverse health effects from bath salt use can range from lack of appetite to kidney failure, muscle spasms, severe paranoid delusions, and psychosis. Several cases of long-term inpatient hospitalization and suicide have been reported and Loeffler has firsthand experience treating service members at Navy military treatment facilities with these symptoms.

"I would say not just as the naval officer, but as your doctor, bath salts will not only jack up your family and your career, it will jack up your mind and body too," said Loeffler in the PSA now available online.

The Bath Salts campaign's slogan, "Bath salts: It's not a fad...It's a nightmare," reflects the hallucinogenic effect of bath salts, which are a non-regulated designer drug comprised of a synthetic cathinone, or amphetamine, that can have a dangerous or debilitating effect on the user.

"As the leader of the medical community for the Navy and Marine Corps, I cannot emphasize enough to our Sailors and Marines that using synthetic drugs really is just like playing Russian roulette with their health, not to mention their career," said Vice Adm. Matthew L. Nathan, U.S. Navy surgeon general said in an editorial written for the Union Tribune in San Diego earlier this year.

The bath salts campaign further supports the Navy Surgeon General's mission for all commanding officers and others in positions of leadership to be fully engaged in their command's implementation plan to continually communicate and educate all hands as to the Navy's zero-tolerance policy on designer drug use.

"The U.S. military represents a microcosm of our much larger population and in many ways strives to be a reflection of the society we serve, so we share many of the same health and safety issues as the general population, including the increased use of these dangerous and debilitating drugs - which not only affect our service members' health, but also our readiness as a military force," said Nathan.

"For nearly two years now, Navy leaders have taken a multitiered approach to combating this escalating issue in our forces, and with our partners in the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Naval Personnel Command and throughout our naval enterprise, we have made progress in deterring and detecting use."

Nathan affirmed that the Navy will continue to highlight the issue of synthetic drug use by delivering sustained and targeted messages throughout the Navy and Marine Corps.

"We cannot over-communicate this issue," said Nathan. "Accountability for those who abuse these substances will help deter their use."

Navy Medicine is a global health care network of more than 63,000 Navy medical personnel around the world who provide high quality health care to more than one million eligible beneficiaries. Navy Medicine personnel deploy with Sailors and Marines worldwide, providing critical mission support aboard ship, in the air, under the sea and on the battlefield.

NAVY CRACKS DOWN ON "SPICE", "BATH SALTS"

FROM:  U.S. NAVY
120329-N-WP746-068 JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM (March 29, 2012) The Criminal Investigative Division at Commander, Navy Region Hawaii, displays examples of seized evidences of synthetic drugs, commonly known as "Spice" as part of an awareness campaign and training against its usage. Spice looks similar to marijuana or oregano and is used for its psychoactive and hallucinogenic effects. Spice and other designer drugs are falsely marketed by manufacturers in commercial-like packaging as a safe way to get high while avoiding drug testing. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mark Logico/Released) 
Navy Weeds Out Users Of Designer Drugs 
MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) -- Navy's implementation of synthetic drug testing for synthetic chemical compounds like "Spice" and "Bath Salts" is helping the service close ranks on Sailors who use these prohibited and dangerous substances, officials said July 2.

"Navy has zero tolerance for drug abuse. Drug abuse, including use of designer drugs and synthetic compounds, by members of the Navy is incompatible with high standards of performance, military discipline, and readiness as embodied by of 21st Century Sailors and Marines," said Rear Adm. Tony Kurta, director, military personnel plans and policy.

Navy reviews its testing of synthetic compounds continuously, and also continually responds to production of new controlled and synthetic compounds, changing testing procedures and pacing the changes being made by producers.

Navy has analyzed more than 3,300 urine samples for synthetic chemical compounds since testing began in March, with 101 samples testing positive. Authorized testing under the synthetic drug testing program is conducted under member consent, command directed, unit and/or subunit sweep.

NCIS will be notified of every positive sample for possible further investigation with a view towards potential disciplinary or adverse administrative action by the service member's command.

Spice is a synthetic chemical compound that is sold as herbal incense and mimics the effects of the drug marijuana. A ban was placed on five synthetic cannabis compounds commonly found in the designer drug Spice, but also sold under different names.

Some of the short-term effects include auditory and visual hallucinations, painless head pressure, panic attacks, time distortion and delirium. Long-term effects from the designer drug can include permanent physical impairment, mental illness or death.

Another synthetic chemical compound, bath salts are sold under the common names: Vanilla Sky, Ivory Wave, Pure Ivory, Purple Wave, Charge+, Ocean Burst, and Sextacy. Bath salts are a potentially addictive powdered substance that is snorted, smoked or injected. They can have an adverse effect on the heart, circulation, nervous system, similar to ecstasy or cocaine, and result in lethal overdose.

The unlawful possession or use by Department of the Navy personnel of controlled substance analogues (designer drugs), natural substances, chemicals wrongfully used as inhalants, propellants, prescribed or over-the-counter medication or pharmaceutical compound with the intent to induce intoxication, excitement or stupefaction of the central nervous system is prohibited via SECNAVINST 5300.28D. Violators are subject to punitive action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Article 92.

Navy's Synthetic Drug Testing Operating Guide is posted on the Navy Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Office (NADAP) website and contains procedures for commands to request synthetic drug testing and synthetic drug testing information.

The Navy's zero-tolerance policy towards drug use is a key contributor to the readiness area of the 21st Century Sailor and Marine. To view the guide or for more news from NADAP, visitwww.nadap.navy.mil.