Bath Salts - Not Something to Joke About

It had all the hallmarks of an urban legend or a scary movie: Homeless man attacked and has face eaten off or Zombie Attacks American - but sadly, it's not a legend and it wasn't a movie scene. This truly happened a couple of weeks ago. A man in his thirties attacked a man in his 60s and literally chewed off a major portion of the older man's face.

The victim is still alive, but fights a major battle to prevent infection from setting in, not to mention the adjustment to what has happened to his face.

What would cause someone to commit such a strange and horrific act? The sad answer - street drugs - in this case, bath salts. But what are bath salts and why do they have such an effect on the user?

I was going to write a blog post on the topic of bath salts, but colleague Melanie Haiken did a fantastic job of it over at Forbes.com: 'Bath Salts' - A Deadly new Drug With A Deceptively Innocent Name.

I had heard of bath salts before. Something came up last year about them, but I didn't pay much attention at the time. Maybe it is time for us to pay more attention to them before more people experience the horrific effects of the drug.

Had you heard of them before? If so, how did they come to be on your radar?