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An emergency ban on bath salts is running out, but today the Florida House moved to make the ban permanent.

Bath salts are synthetic drugs similar to PCP. For years they’ve been sold in convenient stores and head shops until early this year when Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an emergency order outlawing the drugs. State Representative Jimmy Patronis took the torch from there, and today his bill to permanently outlaw the drugs passed its final committee stop.

“The Attorney General and my own Sheriff Frank McKeithen in Bay County have been on top of this and thank goodness the Speaker of the House and the Senate President understand the magnitude, the significant and importance of passing this and codifying it in law,” said Patronis.

Right now selling or possessing an ounce of bath salts carries the same penalties as carrying the same amount of cocaine. The full House will take up the bill next week.