Bill would ban “bath salt” drug

The Judiciary Committee heard testimony Jan. 19 on a bill that would expand the Uniform Controlled Substances Act to ban the compounds that are used to make the drug commonly known as bath salts.

These are chemically altered substances that have similar effects as methamphetamines, LSD and PCP. The product is manufactured and marketed as “bath salts” to skirt around current drug laws.

Under LB814, introduced by Ogallala Sen. Ken Schilz, the penalty for possessing bath salts would be a Class lV felony and manufacturing or trafficking the drug would be a Class lll felony.

Schilz said the drugs can result in a loss of motor control, paranoia and erratic behavior in those who take it.

Corey O’Brien, assistant attorney general, testified in support of the bill. These drugs are cheap to purchase, are widely available and exist solely for the purpose of getting children and adults high, he said.

Some of the compounds listed in LB814 were banned at the federal level in 2010, O’Brien said, but that does not authorize Nebraska to prosecute for possession of these drugs.

“We wanted to make this bill as all encompassing as possible so manufacturers could not tweak the [banned substances] just enough so they are not illegal, like they are doing under federal laws,” O’Brien said.

Mike Vance, a Seward County sheriff, also testified in support of the bill, saying he had arrested a man who had abducted a nine-year-old boy after using bath salts.

When the man was located, Vance said, he was on the roof of a house getting ready to jump off and was acting similar to people who are high on PCP.

No one testified in opposition and the committee took no immediate action on the bill.