Bath salts and fake pot raids begin in Berkeley County - Live5News.com | Charleston, SC | News, Weather, Sports

The battle against recently banned drugs in Berkeley County has begun. Narcotics units of the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office started cracking down on synthetic marijuana and bath salts in a big way Tuesday after both drugs were banned statewide.

"We've been to a scene where a subject has shot up the house thinking that spiders trying to get him," says Berkeley County Major Ricky Driggers. "It's a psychotic drug. It just makes them crazy."

Sheriff Wayne Dewitt is leading the battle against the newly banned substances. In the units first major offensive, they seized more than $1,000 of synthetic marijuana from two stores in less than a hour.

Major Driggers says that's just the tip of the iceburg because the drugs have already leaked to kids and are quickly becoming mainstream and in high demand.

"This is particularly bad because of the fact that young kids are starting to do it," says the Major. "They get suicidal thoughts, suicidal tendencies. I talked to a probate judge and their work load has tripled."

Now, the Sheriff's Office expects their work to triple until the drugs are located and disposed of before the problem gets worse.

"If we make it hard for them to purchase it, young kids are not going to get their hands on it" says Driggers.

The Berkeley County Sheriff's office will continue to swept the county for the illegal drugs and will make routine returns to "problem areas" to make sure the substances don't return to shelves.

Bath salts and synthetic marijuana are now classified in the same category as cocaine and heroin in the state.

Buying, selling or possessing the drugs is a felony and that could result in a five $5,000 fine and up to five years in prison.

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