On Friday, the Maine Prosecutors’ Association “strongly” endorsed the efforts of Gov. Paul LePage to strengthen criminal laws regarding possession, use and distribution of so-called bath salts.

The endorsement is significant, given that members of this association are the ones responsible for prosecuting bath salts-related crimes.

Last week, LePage said bath salts are “wreaking havoc” on Maine, a chilling fact given that the synthetic drugs — these are not your grandmother’s bath salts — have been illegal here since July 1.

LePage also called on legislators to strengthen criminal statutes in cases involving bath salts, and we sincerely hope they do.

These modern bath salts are designer drugs with packaging that warns that the product is “not for human consumption.” But, since there is no other use for the product, it is criminally clear that the intended purpose of these bath salts is most definitely for human consumption.

And, when consumed, the effects are horrible.

Last year, the American Association of Poison Control Centers received just over 300 calls about bath salts. In the first six months of this year, as the stimulants gained popularity, the calls rocketed past 3,000.

Emergency rooms across the country are reporting increased numbers of patients in crisis after consuming these drugs, and Maine is not immune from this trend.

The name of this street drug seems so benign; however, the effect of its use is anything but. Physicians and police officer compare bath salts to PCP, a terrifying comparison.

According to the online Encyclopedia of Drugs and Addictive Substances, “PCP’s effects are so unpredictable and frequently so unpleasant that it has a well-deserved bad reputation, even among drug abusers.”

It’s pretty bad when a drug is too awful even for addicts.

According to a story in last month’s The New York Times, “some of the recent incidents (involving bath salts) include a man in Indiana who climbed a roadside flagpole and jumped into traffic, a man in Pennsylvania who broke into a monastery and stabbed a priest, and a woman in West Virginia who scratched herself ‘to pieces’ over several days because she thought there was something under her skin.”

That woman, doctors said, looked as if she’d been dragged “through a brier bush for several miles.”

In Maine, the drug was first seen in Portland and jumped briefly to Lewiston before landing hard in Bangor, a city where use seems to have centered. Other areas of Maine are not immune, though. In Rumford, police have seen a sharp rise in violence-related complaints due to the synthetic drug, as have some coastal communities around Rockland.

Rumford officers say the drug-induced violence has no apparent focus, but is flung at friends, family, police officers and others as panicked users become aggressive and paranoid, frequently becoming suicidal or homicidal.

Bangor resident Anne Buzzell is warning Mainers about the drug, and we encourage people to listen. Not a user herself, Buzzell’s husband started using the synthetic hallucinogens earlier this year and she told the Bangor Daily News “he hasn’t been my husband since he started doing them.”

The father of her children is just not the same man. He became erratic and paranoid practically overnight and, as a result, Christopher Buzzell has earned the distinction of being the first person in Bangor to be charged with operating under the influence of bath salts after he crashed his car into the Penobscot River.

Buzzell may be the first bath salts OUI defendant, but it’s unlikely he’ll be the last.

Maine lawmakers acted quickly to outlaw the drug, and police say use declined as supply diminished. The natural next step would be to increase criminal penalties for its use as an additional deterrent.

We call on lawmakers to act quickly to tackle this frightening public safety threat.

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The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and editorial board.