SCIENCE THURSDAY -- November 1, 2012 at 6:00 PM EDT
In Maine, Bath Salts Blamed for Rising Child Neglect
By: Jenny Marder
State officials in Maine are blaming a sharp rise in the number of children entering state custody on the street drug known as bath salts.
An additional 200 children entered the state's foster care system due to neglect in the past 11 months, and Therese Cahill-Low, director of the state's Office of Child and Family Services, estimates that about half of the cases are linked to bath salts use. Her department is requesting $4.2 million in additional funding to tackle the growing problem.
The stories are disturbing. Drug-using parents wielding knives. A young mom hallucinating in a tree while her infant child wanders the street. In late 2011, six infant deaths in a three-month period were blamed on neglect, Low said. ...
