Governor Corbett Expected To Sign Bill Banning 'Bath Salts'

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) - Governor Corbett is expected to sign a long-awaited bill now on its way to his desk that will ban the sale of "bath salts" and other synthetic drugs in Pennsylvania.

The state Senate Wednesday gave final approval to the bill that was long-awaited because, as Republican Senator John Gordner observes, local governments have been prompted to act on their own to address the problem.

"I've never seen anything like this type of matter in my 18 years where municipalities or counties have (gone) ahead and taken action in order to rid their area of this terrible epidemic," Gordner says. "Folks that have bath salts are schizophrenic, they wander in the street and they have no idea what they are doing."

Harrisburg-area Republican Senator Pat Vance says synthetic drugs often go by a name that gives people the false impression that they are benign. "We say 'bath salts' and people think it's something you put in the tub," Vance says. "People change their personality, their entire persona when they're doing this. And it is readily available."

Members of the Senate told horror stories about bath salts abuse, including one woman slamming a knife into the wall of her apartment, unaware of what she was doing. A spokesman for Governor Corbett says he's expected to sign the measure pending a standard review of the bill.

Reported by Harrisburg Bureau Chief Tony Romeo, KYW Newsradio 1060