A roadside nap proved costly for an Esquimalt man after an RCMP officer found him asleep at the side of the road in possession of $30,000 in cash and a variety of illegal drugs, including bath salts.The drugs and cash were found early Sunday by a member of the RCMP North Cowichan-Duncan traffic division, who had just dropped off in Nanaimo a youth who had been missing, Const. Sherri Wade said Monday. The officer was heading back to Duncan when he saw a truck stopped on the southbound shoulder of the Trans-Canada Highway.The driver appeared to be asleep behind the wheel. The constable knocked on a window and woke the man. When he spoke to the driver, the constable smelled marijuana.Police searched the truck and found $30,000 in cash and several kilograms of drugs including marijuana, methamphetamine, GHB, LSD, Ecstasy, cocaine and 400 grams of bath salts. This is Nanaimo RCMPs first seizure of bath salts, which they believe was going to be sold on southern Vancouver Island. This is the first time weve come across it, Wade said. The last place it was talked about was Calgary.In May, media reports linked bath salts with a brutal face-eating attack in Miami which left a homeless man disfigured. Although it later turned out that the assailant only had marijuana in his system, bath salts continue to be associated with disturbing, psychotic behaviour. The truck was heading to Victoria, Wade said. And the big message we want to get across with bath salts is how horrific the side-effects are. Its just nothing we want people to play with.Victoria police have had indications that the drug is being sold locally, said spokesman Mike Tucker.We didnt have any confirmed instances of it and we havent seized any, but we were aware of its presence in Victoria, said Tucker. People in the U.S. have said its one of the most concerning substances theyve ever come across in emergency rooms and with police.On its website, the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse says bath salts have been sold online under names such as Ivory Wave, Blue Silk, Pure Ivory and Cloud Nine. The drug contains amphetamine-like chemicals and is quickly addictive. It produces a high similar to cocaine, but is known to cause hallucinations, extreme paranoia and delusions. In June, the federal government announced it would ban the key ingredient in bath salts by the fall, listing Methylenedioxypyrovalerone or MDPV under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, in the same category as heroin and cocaine.A 43-year-old Esquimalt man was arrested and released on a promise to appear in Nanaimo provincial court on Dec. 18. Police are recommending charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking. They are also recommending the truck be seized under proceeds of crime legislation.ldickson@timescolonist.com

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