Bath salts no stranger to Oklahoma

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OKLAHOMA CITY -- The synthetic drugs known as bath salts are gaining national attention after Miami police say a suspect eating the face off a homeless man might have been on a high from the drugs.

But Oklahoma officials say they started seeing the manmade drugs in our state back in 2008.

They used to be sold in gas stations and other stores as "legal" items.

But last year, Oklahoma outlawed the six chemicals in bath salts.

Despite that law, it remains a problem of growing concern.

They're called things like Extreme, Snow Blow and Bliss.

Although they carry the label of bath salts, poison control experts say they're anything but.

"These really aren't bath salts. They're being sold as bath salts or sometimes as screen cleaners for your phone," Oklahoma Poison Control Director Scott Schaeffer said.

Last November, the Oklahoma legislature outlawed bath salts, but a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics says the drug makers are savvy.

"Every day they're coming up with some new synthetic product that, because they know there's a market for it, they know there's people looking for a cheap high and easy access," Mark Woodward said.

Before it was outlawed, a store clerk in Vinita sold the so-called bath salts to an undercover agent.

Officials say since the ban, they've had no such reports.

"We did solve a lot of the access issue. These kids can't just simply go into stores and buy it now. But it is still out there. There are underground markets for it," Woodward said.