Bath Salts

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- Springfield police are following a potentially dangerous and growing trend: substances marketed as bath salts or even plant food being used as legal drugs.  A half-gram pouch of the powders or crystals are selling in Springfield for $40 or $50, and many aren't using the substance for a nice bath or to help their plants grow. They're being sold across the Ozarks and the internet as plant food or bath salts, with names like Vanilla Sky, Ivory Wave, Red Dove, Arctic Blast, White Lightning, and Hurricane Charlie.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon signed a law on Thursday that criminalizes the sale of bath salts and other types of synthetic marijuana.  It also makes those substances a schedule 1 illegal substance with criminal penalties the same as those for marijuana.  Substances falling into the “synthetic cannabinoid” category include 'K2', 'K3' and 'Bath Salts', among others. The governor's office says the law, which is effective on Aug. 28, provides law enforcement with a new tool to stay ahead of criminals.  It eliminates the need to seek new legislation each time a new derivative of these drugs is developed.  The governor's office says any cannabinoid compound that is developed will fall under this new definition.

WAYNESVILLE, Mo. - A 20-year-old man who was arrested after fighting law enforcement when they arrived at his Dixon home June 8 now faces a theft charge for stealing copper wire. Pulaski County Sheriff J.B. King said officers had to use an electric stun gun on Devon Cardin, who appeared to be high on a mind-altering drug such as bath salts, June 8 when officers arrived at Cardin's home on a warrant for failure to appear. Cardin was due in court to face a charge of receiving stolen property.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Users have called it worse than meth.  It worries law enforcement officers who say it causes behavior that is completely unpredictable and often dangerous. Synthetic drugs and bath salts often cause people to have psychotic episodes. Much of the drugs, though, are perfectly legal. The videos of people using synthetic drugs are disturbing.  They show users seemingly out of their minds in no time. "It affects the brain. People become psychotic very quickly after taking them," said Jeff Tucker.

Helping ensure the health and wellbeing of Missouri children, Gov. Jay Nixon signed two bills into law Thursday. House Bill 641 aims at eliminating those potentially harmful drug alternatives from being in existence. K2 alternatives, K3, bath salts, the list is very lengthy to make sure any future "cousins" to these synthetic drugs will be illegal to sell and possess.  These synthetic canabinoids would fall into the same criminal category as Marijuana. Over the past few months, KY3 has shared stories of teens smoking these substances and ending up hospitalized with serious injuries.  This law takes affect August 28.  It was sponsored by Rep. Ward Franz, R-West Plains and co-sponsored by Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - An autopsy shows a high level of a synthetic drug, similar to what's found in products marketed as bath salts and plant food, killed a man who died last summer after being arrested in the Battlefield city park.  The autopsy also shows Joshua Nossoughi's body temperature of 105 degrees contributed to his death.  The Greene County medical examiner says the use of electric stun guns by two sheriff's deputies did not contribute to...

OZARK, Mo. -- State Rep. Ward Franz, R-West Plains, wants to make it illegal to own substances that are alternatives to the banned product known as K-2, including synthetic cocaine that’s marketed as a bath salt.  Christian County Sheriff Joey Kyle supports that effort. Kyle says we need to do more to protect our children. He, like other local law enforcement officers, says laws need to be out there so criminals aren't just running amok.  But, more and more, education and communication at home is becoming vital.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A federal grand jury indicted three members of a family from Springfield for their roles in what investigators call a conspiracy to distribute synthetic drugs, commonly referred to as K2, including a product called Kryp2nite.  Investigators believe the Franklin family has hauled in around $6.7 million from the sales of those products in the past three years.  With those funds, investigators believe, Brandon, Douglas and Caitlyn...