Attleboro Families Struggling From Effects of Designer Drugs

Two Attleboro families are angry that their children landed in area hospitals by ingesting over-the-counter items purchased in an Attleboro store.

The families have asked for anonymity to protect their children's privacy, but they want to share their stories to let other parents and teens know about their ordeals. 

While one family's son is hospitalized and still dealing with the effects, another family's daughter shared her story of what happened when she and her sister experimented with a particular line of bath salts.

They say the salts, allegedly sold at the Station House gas station in Attleboro, has a devastating effect. Sold in a little pouch, the salt, which looks like a white powder and is sold under street names including Ivory Wave, Vanilla Sky, Tranquility and about a dozen others, is snorted by its users. 

"It looks like coke," the young woman said. "The high is so good, but when you come down, you have suicidal thoughts and you're paranoid," she said. "I only did it once."

One of her siblings, however, is hooked, she said. And she is worried that the drug could kill her, like it has others in Florida and Lousiana. 

"She stayed up a straight 52 hours doing it," she said of her sister. "She does it every day. She has lost so much weight because it takes away your hunger."

The side effect of the drug has left her sister a different person. Her mood has changed significantly and family members will not allow her to be around younger family members. 

"She needs to stop doing it, and that is what I care about," the woman said. 

DEA: Drug of Concern

The bath salts are a "drug of concern" to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration because they are similar to LSD, cocaine and heroin, according to DEA Special Agent Tony Pettigrew.

"We get the reports that people are having psychotic episodes," he said from the DEA's Boston office. "In the meantime, some states have made it illegal, including Hawaii, Michigan, Louisiana, Kentucky and North Dakota." 

In fact, Joseph Rannazzisi, deputy assistant administrator for the DEA's office of diversion control, testified that poison control centers and several state and public health departments have issued warnings about the drug. In his testimony before the Senate Caucas on International Narcotics Control, Rannazzisi describes the effects of the drugs as fast-racing heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, tremors, seizures, hallucinations, paranoid behavior and non-responsiveness.

"These purportedly legitimate legal products, that are marketed as bath salts, plant food and incense, are clearly a pretense for unlawful activity," Rannazzisi said in his April 6 testimony. 

The salts are believed to contain Methylenedioxypyrovalerone, or MDPV, a chemical that is not approved for medical use in the United States, according to the DEA. 

Parents are scared

The girls' father said he reached out to Patch in an effort to help prevent any other family from experiencing what he has experienced. 

"I'm scared and concerned for my child and scared and concerned for other parents who are going through the same thing and might not know it," the father said. "I have seen my daughter coming down off of that stuff and it scares me."

"If it helps one more kid and more parents, it's worth the effort," he said.

Hospitalized with side effects

The other Attleboro family has a son in Pembroke Hospital in Pembroke, MA, dealing with paranoia and other side effects that his family blames on the salt. 

"He’s been in critical care," said his mother in tears. "To me, this is homegrown terrorism – it is an assault on our youth." Her son's doctor said they "nearly lost him" recently.

Even the hospitals, the mother said, aren't always aware. "The doctors and the hospitals my family has dealt with – and we've dealt with five psychiatric hospitals – don't know what to do," she said. "Here’s the problem with it – it does not show in their blood.

"You can have a suicidal kid and you don't know they did this," she said. "I am trying to let people know so that other people don't have to go through this. "Even the city's health department should know about this."

She said her son smoked one package of the salts before experiencing the severe problems. The doctor told her that the salt apparently magnifies existing illnesses, such as bipolar disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).

Associate Chief of Emergency Services at , Dr. Brian Kelly, said the hospital has not encountered in its emergency room any patients who have ingested bath salts, but he provided a warning to families. 

 “As an emergency physician, I have seen the results of drug experimentation," Dr. Kelly said. "I urge young adults whose interest might be piqued by this new fad to avoid any and all experimentation with drugs because the consequences can be devastating and life-changing.”  

The family came forward to share their story also in hopes that it may help another family, but they also hope store owners take responsibility for what they are selling. The DEA's Pettigrew agreed. 

"Obviously any company that has this on their shelves – it is their responsibility to know what is in their product," he said. "Parents need to be aware that this is not harmless incense. If your teen has bath salts in their room, you should be concerned."

Store owner not sure if he'll continue selling salts

The Station House gas station and convenience store on Park Street, is where the bath salts were allegedly purchased.

The gas station's owner, who identified himself as "Sobie" (documents show the owner as Chaouki W. Sarkis) said he was not aware of any customers getting sick or having adverse effects from the products he sells, but said an Attleboro police officer had been by his store inquiring about his products. Attleboro Police Det. Sgt. Art Brillon said "as it stands there are no current recorded incidents" with the police department, but added that if an officer is working on a report involving such an incident it may not yet have been filed.

Sobie denied selling anyone the bath salts, saying, "I know nothing about it. We are business people and I'm selling stuff to make money."

"If I stop selling it, will it stop them?" he asked. 

The owner said, personally, he does not like the stuff and that it is "very bad" and that the people who come in his store to buy it "don't care about the end result."

"I don't want anyone to get hurt," he said. "If I heard something happened, I'd stop selling it."

When told about the Attleboro resident who is being treated in a hospital, he said: "I'm going to talk with the other guy (distributor) and maybe stop selling it – it's not worth the headaches."