Sociology research proposal

Bath Salts: Legal Ways to Get High

Name Withheld SOC 220 Introduction to Social Research Professor Kim

Although Bath Salts sound like a relaxing addition to one’s bathing experience, they are anything but relaxing. They are a category of synthetic, mind-altering drugs which users can obtain easily and, often, legally. My research proposal explores the effect that legality has on the desirability of Bath Salts and on people’s feelings towards and willingness to use them. My thesis is that Bath Salts are more desirable to people if they can acquire the drugs easily and legally.

Bath Salts are a relatively new occurrence in the United States; clinical reports of their usage (and abuse) were first observed in the U.S. in 2008 (Saha, Wilson and Adger Jr. 2012). This means that there has not been much time to gather extensive data on attitudes toward Bath Salts; much information remains unknown and yet to be uncovered. My research would therefore be exploratory and, hopefully, would discover new data about this growing current topic.

The purpose of this research is to determine people’s attitudes towards Bath Salts and to figure out what influences them to feel that way. One’s thoughts tend to encourage one’s actions, so knowing how one thinks can predict how one might act. This pertains to thoughts about and the use of Bath Salts. As more is known not only about the drugs themselves but about the people who are likely to use them, it is possible that better laws and policies can be implemented to counter drug use. The relationships that Bath Salts have with other drugs might be able to be concluded as well. And this could even lead to solving further drug problems involving different kinds of drugs. The more one knows about the problem, the easier it is to find a practical solution to it.

Although the current literature on Bath Salts is less than abundant, there are two possible arguments involving the relationship between the legality and the use of Bath Salts. The first,

which supports my thesis, states that Bath Salts are attractive to some people for the reason that they are legal and easily accessible. This argument is according to Saha, Wilson and Adger Jr. (2012), who are all medical doctors and have witnessed firsthand the consequences of patients who have taken or have overdosed on Bath Salts. Teenagers, who may not be willing to make purchases from or do not have access to a “drug dealer,” can instead buy Bath Salts online, at local tobacco stores or in head shops (which sell drug paraphernalia). The sheer convenience of this makes Bath Salts a viable option if one’s intention is to get high. They are also often marketed as “natural” and people may assume that they are safe to use. This is certainly not the case, as many users have required hospitalization. People may believe that because Bath Salts are legal to purchase they are not harmful, and it is this fact that increases the usage of this dangerous drug.

The other argument of this topic is that the legality of Bath Salts will have little or no effect on someone’s willingness to use or abuse the drug. This is stated by Penders (2012), who is also a medical doctor and is familiar with the effects of the drug. Evidence proving the use of Bath Salts has increased in the United States despite laws being passed that attempt to ban sale and possession of the drug or at least ban certain chemicals that are used in the making of the drugs. The Drug Enforcement Agency made MDPV and mephedrone (two synthetic chemicals often found in Bath Salts) illegal, but use is still prevalent. Making Bath Salts illegal will only cause people to be creative about how they sell them, as is the case with other drugs. Sellers will label them as “plant food” or even say they are “not for human consumption” to get around the laws and regulations. If someone truly desires the drug, making them illegal will not do much to prevent them from getting it. This is averse to my thesis, but it still remains a valid argument to make.

For both arguments, the authors are all medical doctors, not sociologists. Looking at Bath Salts from a strictly medical viewpoint as opposed to a sociological one could have some drawbacks. There are probably many social factors and relationships that doctors are not as familiar with as compared to sociologists. But in this case, and considering their experience with drug users, I believe the opinions and statements of the authors have great merit and should be deeply considered.

My hypotheses are as follows: 1) Bath Salts are more likely to be viewed as desirable if they can be obtained legally. 2) Bath Salts are less likely to be seen as being dangerous if they can be purchased legally. 3) Bath Salts are more likely to be viewed as better alternatives to illegally attained drugs, such as cocaine.

Before we venture any further, some concepts have to be defined and explained. As previously noted, Bath Salts have nothing to do with bathing (unless you enjoy doing drugs while soaking in the bathtub). Bath Salts are a form of synthetic cathinones (some cathinones are found naturally in plants, but synthetic means that they are man-made), which are similar to amphetamines and have stimulating properties (Saha, Wilson and Adger Jr. 2012; Loeffler and Penn 2012). They often consist of a whitish-coloured powder and are sold in small packages. Users usually ingest or insufflate (inhale) the powder, but have been known to inject it or use it rectally, as well. Effects vary, but hallucinations and psychosis often occur. Overdoses, however, can be fatal. A major problem is that opinions of how much amounts to an overdose vary because the potency of different Bath Salts varies. There are no regulations in the manufacturing process and this makes them a dangerous drug to abuse.

At first, Bath Salts in the United States were legal and relatively easy to purchase. There were no laws directly banning them and sellers advertised them in misleading ways. Since Bath

Salts have been seen as a problem in our society, legislations have passed in attempt to ban them, but people do still use them and they remain problematic. They have not been removed from the shelves completely. In this research, however, the actual legality of Bath Salts is not of the utmost importance; it is instead the views that people have concerning the legality of the drugs that is essential.

When the verb “to use” is associated with Bath Salts, this does not require a particularly large amount or an overdose. This just means to use any amount of Bath Salts, no matter how small. It also refers to any of the previously mentioned methods of use. And effects do not need to be of a specific severity for one to be considered to have used Bath Salts.

In order to measure—or operationalize—the outlooks people have on the relationship between the legality of Bath Salts and one’s willingness to use them, a survey will have to be given that will record these opinions. The objective is to find out what these opinions are, so asking the people themselves makes the most sense. As already mentioned, the true legality of Bath Salts is not necessary to the research so no special actions need to be taken to measure this. All that needs to be measured are the responses of individuals regarding the questions to which I am trying to find answers.

The topic of Bath Salts, being a relatively new occurrence, is an exploratory one. The research would consist of basic research since it is merely looking for information and not necessarily for a solution to any problems. The answers that I am looking for are qualitative. The time dimension of the research would be cross-sectional because it would be a one-time event. The unit of analysis is the individual because it is the views and opinions of the individual respondents on which this research will be based.

The sample of my research will be 300 SUNY Oswego students, the sampling frame being the university directory. The intention is that this sample is representative of America as a whole, which would be the population about which I am trying to learn. I will assign numbers to all of the students using a list based on the alphabetical order of their surnames. I will then use a computerized random number generator to indiscriminately select 300 names from the entire list of students. Although it is convenient to study respondents from the university that is nearby and that I happen to be attending, this would be a simple random sample because the random number generator would eliminate errors caused by human judgment. However, this does not mean that all errors will be or even can be avoided. There still could be an unavoidable selection error because perhaps Oswego students will turn out to not be very representative of the American population in general. This problem could not be solved by the implementation of my random number generator because it would only be generating numbers for the sampling frame, which only consists of SUNY Oswego students. A way to lessen this negative effect would be to take respondents from many different places throughout the nation, but even this would not guarantee a completely error-free set of data because they could be poorly representative of the population, as well.

Another potential problem could be the history of any of the respondents. Their previous experiences—either positive or negative—with drugs in general or Bath Salts in particular could influence how they answer the survey questions. Experience with drugs could make their answers better informed, but it could also cause biased views. There is no way to be aware of a respondent’s history in advance of giving the survey, so there is no effective solution to this problem.

The survey given to the selected respondents would be given online. It could be sent to the students via their email accounts. Using the internet would ensure that answers are given confidentially and would hopefully encourage one to respond as truthfully as possible. It will not matter if someone is embarrassed to answer a specific question because nobody else will see or hear them giving their particular opinion. It is also convenient both for the researcher and the respondent. The respondent may be more willing to take a survey that is convenient and will fit into his or her schedule.

Unfortunately, there are some problems with giving online surveys via email. First of all, the selected student may not check his or her email very often. Also, they may check their email often enough, but simply choose not to respond to the survey for any of various reasons. Another problem is that sometimes emails are accidentally deleted. Someone may have been willing to take the survey but they cannot because they do not currently see it in their list of received emails. One more problem could simply be technical issues. A respondent may take the survey but it might end up not getting submitted properly. All of these problems can lead to a lack of data.

The questions of the survey will be based on a Likert Scale with the following possible answers: 1) strongly disagree, 2) disagree, 3) neutral, 4) agree, and 5) strongly agree. The questions that would be asked would have to lead to answers to my hypotheses. They would include:

1. Have you ever experimented with illegal drugs?

2. Have you ever used Bath Salts before (these two would be yes or no questions)?

3. Would you be willing to try Bath Salts?

4. Would you be willing to try Bath Salts if they were legal to buy and use?

5. Do you consider Bath Salts to be dangerous to one’s health?

6. Do you consider cocaine to be dangerous to one’s health?

7. Would you be more willing to use Bath Salts over cocaine (answer neutral if you

would not be willing to use either)?

8. Do you think that Bath Salts should be legal to buy?

9. Do you think that if Bath Salts were legal more people would use them?

The final questions would ask for basic demographics, such as gender and race, to see if these have an effect on the respondents’ answers. In order to limit confusion or error, I would include at the beginning of the survey a brief description of Bath Salts for the benefit of respondents who may not be at all familiar with them (or who think they are used in the bathtub). The description would consist solely of facts and would not influence the respondent to answer the following questions a certain way.

All of the listed questions would hopefully allow me to successfully determine the results of my hypotheses. The questions are clear enough to prevent misunderstanding on the respondent’s part and are relevant to the topic. There should be minimal error in this section of the research.

After the data from the surveys are collected, analyses and conclusions will have to be made in order to validate or refute my three hypotheses. Since the numbers one through five are already assigned to the possible answers (with the exception of the yes or no and demographic questions) the strength and frequencies of specific responses can be measured. Also, by comparing the answers amongst different questions, relationships between the factors can be found. Whether my hypotheses are correct or not does not matter, as long as the methods of my research allow for the collection of data that is accurate and is representative of the American population.

Although this is basic research and is not looking for specific solutions to any problems with drugs, the results of this research would be beneficial in several ways and could possibly lead to positive outcomes in the future. First of all, more information could be gathered about people’s perceptions of Bath Salts, which are a relatively new occurrence on which not much data exists. Being aware of this information could persuade people to conclude that just because something is legal does not ensure that there are no dangers associated with it. Lawmakers and educators could learn about how people view drugs and use these facts to combat drug abuse by implementing better laws and teaching more effectively. As with other drugs, learning about Bath Salts and about people’s opinions of them is the best way to figure out how to decrease their use. The data collected in this research would not necessarily create any viable solutions, but it could eventually open up opportunities for them in the future.

Having similarities to other drugs, Bath Salts can be quite a controversial and debatable topic. The issue concerning legality adds to the possible controversy. Opinions of Bath Salts differ from person to person and the object of my research is to determine if legality acts as a factor in this differentiation. The respondents of my survey would help lead to an answer to this question. Although my research methods are not completely free of errors, they would make the best attempt at collecting the appropriate data with accuracy. As long as the sample reflects the feelings of the population, I would be able to depend on the data and use it to gain as much knowledge as possible about Bath Salts.

Bibliography Loeffler, Lt George, Lt Ashley Penn. 2012. “Spice, Bath Salts, and the U.S. Military: The

Emergence of Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists and Cathinones in the U.S. Armed Forces.” Military Medicine. 177 (September): 1041-1048.

Penders, Thomas M. 2012. “How to Recognize a Patient Who’s High on ‘Bath Salts’.” The Journal of Family Practice. 61 (4): 210-212.

Saha, Shonali, J Deanna Wilson and Hoover Adger Jr. 2012. “K2, Spice, and Bath Salts Commercially Available Drugs of Abuse.” Contemporary Pediatrics. October: 22-28.

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