"Bath salts," the synthetic stimulant 3, 4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone, or MDPV, has been around for decades.

MDPV was developed in the 1960s, and has been used for the treatment of chronic fatigue, but caused problems of abuse and dependence.• 1969: Boehringer Ingelheim files a patent application for MDPV.• 2005: MDPV appears as a recreational drug; first mention on Drugs-Forum.• 2007: First seizure of MDPV as a recreational drug, by customs officials in the German state of Saxony. The drug had been shipped from China.• 2008: First seizure of MDPV in the United States.• 2009: MDPV made illegal in Denmark.• 2010: MDPV made a controlled drug in the United Kingdom and Sweden. First reports of the widespread retail marketing of "bath salts" containing MDPV in the United States.• 2011: MDPV sale and possession are banned in the states of Florida and Louisiana and North Dakota, with legislation being introduced in many other states (including Pennsylvania).Source: Presentation by Glenn Duncan, Executive Director, Hunterdon Drug Awareness Program, Flemington, New Jersey