Last month, BRC Recovery published a blog post about bath salts as a dangerous new drug addiction.
Later, that same month, a news story out of Miami made national news when it was reported that a homeless man was attacked by a deranged assailant, who authorities suspected was high on a dangerous new street drug known as ‘bath salts’ [source].
Now, on the heels of a rising epidemic, NBC news affiliate, KXAN sat down with BRC CEO, Marsha Stone, on Tuesday to discuss the seriousness of this new addiction as well as the impact that it is having on the community.
Among concerns with bath salts addiction is the fact that experts claim that bath salts may be even more powerful than heroine as well as similar to LSD or PCP. And along with Austin police seeing an increase in calls related to people being high on bath salts, BRC Recovery has also experienced an increase in the number of admissions calls that they have received related to this dangerous drug.
Over the past six months, bath salts addiction has led to a 50 percent increase of calls at the BRC Recovery in Manor. Of the recent increase in bath salts addiction, Stone states that this is a relatively new phenomenon in the drug rehabilitation industry:
It’s frightening. One of the people that I had spoken with were actually able to pass a drug screen because of the synthetic nature- because it’s not detected at this point through a typical drug screen process.
For two recovering addicts at BRC, bath salts addiction hit dangerously close to home. When interviewed about his addiction to bath salts, 22-year old Tyler Daugherty stated:
I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t drink,” he said. “I was only on it for three days, and by the third day I didn’t know what day it was, what time it was or anything. I was just miserable.
For 26-year-old Kelsey McCoy, bath salts didn’t seem like it posed as big of a threat as other drugs:
I didn’t know anything about it…I didn’t know how dangerous it was. I knew bath salts wouldn’t show up on a drug test, and that was also a great win-win situation.
Today, both Daugherty and McCoy are sober as they continue to recover at BRC. Both have aspirations for a brighter future- one that is drug-free and characterized by permanent sobriety, thanks to BRC. And living a life of sobriety is something that provides them with a much better feeling than could’ve ever been attained by their former drug addiction. For McCoy, this means hopefully realizing her dream of becoming a veterinarian. For Daugherty, this means going back to school. But more importantly, BRC Recovery continues to provide hope and endless possibilities for a brighter future for recovering addicts like Daugherty and McCoy- hope that drug and alcohol recovery IS possible- that you CAN overcome your addiction.
As Daugherty stated:
I can’t explain it…There’s something about the 12-step program– you get to a point where drugs aren’t really on your mind anymore.
To see the news story, take a look at the video below. You can also read the full story at KXAN by clicking here.
Designer drug bath salts usage on rise: kxan.com