EDITORIAL: Indiana Legislature's assault on bath salts must continue

In one reported instance a uniformed police office walked into a local store — wearing his uniform and badge — and purchased the product without a blink from the store’s clerk.

Don’t be fooled; these are by no means salts you would pour into a bath. They are a code name for a potentially dangerous mix of chemicals that are also legal to purchase. Children can buy them right over the counter.

We understand people in business wanting to turn a profit; after all, what business doesn’t? But we also realize that money shouldn’t be the driving force behind some things. Public safety is far more important than making a buck. And that is why we applaud the state legislature for looking into creating a much tougher ordinance banning the sale of K2 and bath salts.

The existing ordinance, which bans both the sale and possession of K2, is just another way to help in the fight. However, the manufacturers of the so-called “incense” or “potpourri” simply reformulated the product with chemicals that are not covered under the ordinance. They’re now sold under different names such as 2G, B2 Da Bomb and Baked Goods — the last one particularly insidious because the package design looks appealing to kids.

This is likely going to be an ongoing fight. But it is also a fight that we must push our lawmakers, both on a local and a state level, to continue fighting and toughening the local and state statutes as many times as needed to make sure that synthetic drug substances and substances such as bath salts are no longer available here or anywhere else in the state.