SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - Kenneth Dickinson said when he did research on bath salts, he found numerous news reports from Schuylkill County.
"I was on the Web looking for bath salt stories and guess where they were coming from?" Dickinson asked.
He then said they were coming from the county.
"We were on the map before a lot of other places were," he said.
Dickinson, a trainer with the state Department of Drugs and Alcohol Programs, a pharmacist with a master's degree in health education and lecturer and director of marketing for Gaudenzia, a nonprofit drug and alcohol provider, gave an overview of the dangers and symptoms of bath salts and other synthetic drugs Tuesday at Penn State Schuylkill.
His findings didn't seem to surprise the approximate 30 people in attendance.
Gaudeniza, which has locations in Fountain Springs and Pottsville, made the presentation possible.
Synthetic marijuana, a drug called Kratom and other drugs were discussed, especially the unknown dangers the products have on people.
"We don't know what these drugs do in the long term," he said.
He showed a video of a young man on bath salts in the back of a car being questioned by a police officer. The man was laughing, making weird facial movements and at one point even screamed. A woman in the audience said she had heard and read about bath salts but never seen what it can actually do to people.
"You can't totally predict what bath salts are going to do to somebody," Dickinson said.
Efforts by law officials and the Legislature do what they can to combat the drugs but people are finding ways to produce and sell to others.
"It's all about marketing. It's all about making a buck," Dickinson said.
Some of the symptoms associated with the use of bath salts include aggression, agitation, breathing difficulty, delusions and paranoia, according to a handout provided at the presentation.
Effects from the drug can last three to four hours. When someone has stopped taking bath salts and the effects wear off, "They're just like zombies a little bit in their early recovery," he said.
Other symptoms include short-term memory loss and difficulty concentrating.
Stephen Barrett, captain of the Frackville Ambulance, related the presentation to experiences on the job.
Barrett said Schuylkill County "is ground zero," with bath salts. He said the demographics of the county might contribute to the use of bath salts and other substances.
When the ambulance company goes on a call and bath salt use is possible, they request a law enforcement presence, he said.
"It's out there and it's affecting us," Barrett said, adding education is key to addressing the ongoing problem.