Bath Salts Drug Not Involved In Murder Leading To Pamela's Law Ban, NJ Prosecutor Says

A New Jersey prosecutor announced Friday that a murder suspect whose alleged use of the designer drug "bath salts" led to the banning of the substance in the Garden State did not have the drug in his system following his March arrest.

William Parisio of Cranford, N.J., has been indicted for the March 13 murder of his girlfriend, Pamela Schmidt. According to a press release announcing the charges, Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow said toxicology reports showed that Parisio did not have the substance in his system following his March 14 arrest.

In the days following his arrest, Parisio's mother, Dianne, told the Star-Ledger that her son was high on bath salts when he was accused of murdering Schmidt in the basement of his parents' Cranford home. Parisio entered a not guilty plea in New Jersey Superior Court in March.

MDPV, which has gained the street name "bath salts" in light of the similar appearance to the therapeutic and benign luxury product, has become popular as it causes a high similar to methamphetamine. The effects of MDPV include remaining awake for hours, hyper behavior, potential paranoia, anxiety and increased sexual arousal.

In March, the New Jersey Poison Control Center said that there had only been 10 reported cases of bath salt use in New Jersey. The drug originated in Europe and has gained popularity in the United States since the beginning of 2011.

A bill banning Methylenedioxypyrovalerone, better known as MDPV, the primary drug in bath salts, had been pending in the state legislature prior to Schmidt's murder and gained bipartisan support in the days following the crime. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed the ban into law on August 23, following a preliminary ban by acting state Consumer Affairs Director Thomas Calcagni in April. The law gained the name "Pamela's Law" in Schmidt's honor.

"It is like playing Russian roulette because you don't know what the impact would be," said Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D) of the effects of using the drug. "For some they can become paranoid and hallucinate. [The salts] are quite addictive."

Stender, who sponsored the ban after she saw a report about the drug on the "Today" show, said she had not seen Romankow's report, but defended the bill, noting Dianne Parisio's statement following her son's arrest.

"That seemed to indicate that the substance was used prior to the murder happening," Stender said. "The fact of the matter is this substance is dangerous and should not be legal."

In addition to the state law, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) announced his support of a bill sponsored by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to ban MDPV on the federal level.

A spokeswoman for Christie referred questions about bath salts to Attorney General Paula Dow's office. A Dow spokesman said Christie signed the bill for public safety concerns, not because of Schmidt's death.

"The governor signed the legislation because so-called 'bath salt designer drugs' are extremely dangerous," Dow spokesman Paul Loriquet said Friday. "The chemicals have no valid medical use and can only cause life-threatening medical harm to those who ingest them. Regardless of who the law was named after, the legislation was signed by the governor to help save lives."

While Stender and Assemblyman John McKeon (D) were the original sponsors of the bill, another 12 legislators, including six Republicans, signed on to the bill after Schmidt's murder. Following Christie's Aug. 23 signing of the law, multiple lawmakers sent out individual press releases trumpeting their sponsorship of the ban. Christie's own press release highlighted Schmidt's murder and the name "Pamela's Law" in the first paragraph.

Stender indicated that she believed the initial connection between bath salts and Schmidt's murder helped pass the ban in New Jersey.

"I think it brought a lot of media attention to the issue because of the timing," Stender said on Friday about Dianne Parisio's statement. "It was linked to this event that certainly gave greater prominence to the issue at the time."

Bath salts are commonly found in convenience stores and sold in packaging resembling that on gardening supplies. Stender said she has heard reports of people being able to obtain MDPV in stores near the Rutgers University campus in New Brunswick. Parisio and Schmidt were both students at Rutgers.

New Jersey is the first urban/suburban state to institute a ban on bath salts, which have become popular in rural America. Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota and Idaho are among the dozen states that have instituted bans on the drug. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) became the first state official to prohibit the drug, when he ordered the state health department to place it on a ban list in January.

Comments

[alirus407]

12:31 AM on 09/06/2011

Lost here, what drug is in Bath Salts? Anyone?

[ruthieriver1]

01:22 AM on 09/06/2011

It's not truly bathsalts, like the kind you use in the bathtub...They sell them under the guise of bathsalts, although it's really no guise when everyone knows...It's some pretty messed up stuff, but I'm not aware of the exact ingredients, I know some of them are imported in...

[sassiestkat]

09:37 PM on 09/05/2011

I never cease to be amazed the things addict will come up with to further their addiction(s). I have had head-spinning experiences watching A&E's 'Intervention', I believe never in a million years would I come up with using substances/medications in the way(s) addicts do.

Have we not yet learned that regulation won't solve the problem? Perhaps someone needs to send NJ a briefing on the era known as 'Prohibition.'

[MikeyJaii]

12:51 PM on 09/05/2011

1000 ways to die.

[Edward Wilkes]

04:38 AM on 09/05/2011

Sounds like this guy is all washed up. Now he should be honest and just come clean!

[Rev JOHN J]

09:06 PM on 09/04/2011

Harry Anslinger would be proud. Along with being cannaphobic, now we are scared of bath salt. Why don't they ban nicotine if they really cared about saving people from the harms of drug abuse.

[coolhandfreak]

12:58 AM on 09/05/2011

Cigarettes are worth mucho dinero and the special interests(the tobacco industry) would never let public health concerns get in the way of making the almighty cash windfall. Death sticks are here to stay. Besides the government taxes these nicotine delivery systems(ciggies) big time so the Super Rich can skate their fair share.

[ruthieriver1]

08:42 PM on 09/05/2011

Cigarettes do not make you paranoid, nor do they you violent, not be able to sleep, and change your brain activity in a massive way, with that said yes, I realise that cigarettes are one of the most addicting "drugs", but they do not bring on the side effects like these drugs do, that's like comparing meth to weed...It just doesn't add up...........

[sdmokhiber]

06:54 PM on 09/04/2011

So Bath Salts didn't contribute to the killing? So then they aren't going to go forward with making the illegal right? I condemn drug use and of course murder but it seems like a good defense would be "they manipulated evidence against me in order to further the states ability to regulate this drug"

[yetiwatcher]

11:45 PM on 09/04/2011

How is that a good defense?
The killing took place before the media circus and passing of the law, so it is difficult to understand how those events could be used as a defense against the charges he faces.
Also, where is the manipulation of evidence? If the mother's statement to the press is taken as testimonial evidence, then the lawmakers took it at face value and acted based on the faulty belief that it was true. I'm not saying that was a good idea, just that it does not appear to be manipulation of evidence by the lawmakers (but maybe it was a fabrication on the part of the mother).

One might argue for a change of venue, claiming that the events subsequent to the arrest preclude a fair trial in the area in which the killing happened. Would he then argue that since the arrest was co-opted for anti-drug hysteria emanating from the Statehouse, that he should be tried out of state? The implication then being that NJ should turn the case over to the US Attorney's Office for prosecution...
it will be interesting to see what evidence they do produce at trial - wherever and whenever it happens.

It's pretty sad that his own mother seems to have made inflammatory and factually incorrect statements to the press prior to trial. After behaving like she had some knowledge of relevant events, she might be called to testify... although right now her credibility is kinda suspect.

[sdmokhiber]

12:17 AM on 09/05/2011

.I'm not saying it is the BEST defense or even his entire defense but it is worth explaining to a jury that the state had a motive. They wanted to regulate a drug, this case can move support to regulate the drug because of all the publicity. It is an easy enough concept to grasp right? Doesn't matter when the murder took place, the publicity is at the right time for the state. So this portion of the defense would not attack the evidence but rather the motive of the state to wrongfully charge or over charge the defendant.

As far as his mothers statement or any other evidence that you say does not appear to be manipulated, I guarantee there are ten experts who will line up to debate that. And now we have a motive for the state to want to make the evidence fit their argument.

From what I read I would not suggest a change of venue. Nor would I out-right suggest that the arrest was co-opted for anti-drug hysteria but rather explain the reasons behind it, more simpler reason(s), money and power which in turn drive the anti-drug hysteria, or make up a reason. Pick the right jury and explain it to them how they need to hear it.

As a defendant he doesn't have to prove anything. And now they have a reason as to why any of the evidence would have been manipulated

[Niki Spencer]

06:39 PM on 09/04/2011

I love how the government is all for policing what people can't do, but isn't for policing what corruptorations can't do. People can't alter their dismal reality for a few hours without being policed and arrested, but CEOs can fleece an entire nation, kill the American dream, and crash a world economy as that's ok? I'm so confused, it's like I'm living in a dark, twisted Dr. Seuss book with no happy ending in sight.

[butchcat]

04:27 PM on 09/04/2011

Where can I get some of them there bath salts????

[huntingtreasures]

09:42 PM on 09/04/2011

FISH BONES

[Annette Hammond]

11:06 AM on 09/04/2011

I still don't have any idea how bath salts came to be drug.weird

[Cold in Michigan]

04:24 PM on 09/04/2011

lol...they didn't. The 'new' drug looks like bath salts...hence the name.

[Annette Hammond]

05:28 PM on 09/04/2011

Yes,i looked it up after i read this.

[alirus407]

12:33 AM on 09/06/2011

ok thanks