'Bath Salt' Bust in Bloomfield

Most people are aware that the recreational use and possession of marijuana is still illegal in New Jersey.

But bath salts?

On Wednesday, Bloomfield police arrested a 27-year-old East Orange man after a motor vehicle stop led to the discovery of marijuana and “bath salts.”

The possession and distribution of the misleadingly named designer drugs known as “bath salts” - which often contain a cocktail of hazardous chemicals that are snorted, eaten or injected - has been illegal in New Jersey since 2011.

According to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, as a Schedule I CDS, the manufacture, distribution, sale, or possession of the chemicals is a third-degree crime. Violators may be subject to a fine of up to $25,000 and imprisonment for a three- to five-year term.

The chemicals have no relation to epsom salts or other non-toxic bath additives.