The Weed Thread

[Securb]

The recent explosion in the distribution of “bath salts,” the designer drug of the moment, apparently is being driven by the unmatched markup prices realized by dealers.

In a sworn affidavit, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent details the whopping return on investment that can be banked by “bath salt” distributors. The affidavit, excerpted here, was filed as part of a court application to search the office of an Ohio man accused of distributing the drug.

According to DEA Agent Stacie Modesitt, the suspect paid $9000 to Kamud Drugs, a Mumbai, India firm, for 10 kilograms of mephedrone, the hallucinogenic stimulant resembling cocaine that is often referred to as “bath salts.” Modesitt noted that the “intended, legitimate use” for mephedrone “is as an ingredient in plant fertilizer.”

After the 10 kilograms was repackaged into “packets” that are often sold at headshops, the 22 pounds of mephedrone would yield a street value of $1.6 million, Modesitt reported. So, the rate of return on a $9000 investment would be a tidy 17,800 percent.

A recent spate of “bath salt” overdoses across the U.S. has prompted several states to ban the substance. Although it has not yet been scheduled as a controlled substance, the DEA has named “bath salts” as a drug of concern. In a statement last week, White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske called “bath salts” a “serious threat to the health and well-being of young people and anyone who may use them.” He added that, “the marketing and sale of these poisons as ‘bath salts’ is both unacceptable and dangerous.”