A Lancaster County judge signed a civil order Wednesday morning banning all local sales and possession of "bath salts."

Judge David Ashworth signed the temporary injunction filed by the district attorney's office, making it illegal for anyone to have or market the stimulant.

The order comes a week after Gov. Tom Corbett signed a bill banning the substance from store shelves.

District Attorney Craig Stedman pointed out, however, that the law won't go into effect for another 60 days.

"I didn't want to wait," Stedman said, shortly after the order was signed. "The ultimate goal is just to get it off the street."

Anyone possessing or selling bath salts here will face a $1,000 fine and must surrender the substance to authorities, according to the judge's order.

Offenders also face potential prosecution on misdemeanor charges, though criminal action is not the intent, Stedman said.

"We're not interested in prosecuting anyone," he said. "We just want this stuff out of the county."

"Bath salts," according to police, are sold locally under the names Ivory Wave, White Lightning, and Hurricane Charlie. Users have reported hallucinations, paranoia, panic attacks and dizziness. The substance also can trigger seizures and rapid heartbeats, according to a court document.

"These bath salts contain ingredients that are nothing more than legally sanctioned narcotics being sold to any consumers, including minors, with no questions asked at store counters across the County of Lancaster," Assistant District Attorney Christopher J. Lechner writes in the motion for the injunction.

Local police officers and emergency-room doctors have seen sick patients who consumed the substance on a regular basis.

"They are getting more and more cases in the ER," Stedman said.

Police here and in surrounding counties have reported incidents with people under its influence becoming combative and violent.

"On many occasions, the person attempting to assist the paranoid 'bath salt' user, would be a family member, a law enforcement officer, or a random member of the general public in the wrong place at the wrong time," Lechner writes in the motion.

Those conflicts prompted state legislators to take action. Until that law goes into effect, county residents and business owners are warned to get rid of the substance.

Ashworth's order names five local vendors. Police provided the DA's office with the names of vendors who recently sold the substance, Stedman said.

"They, at least, had them in the past," Stedman said. "They've been served" a notice to remove the substances.

The vendors included in the order are:

• Manheim Gulf, 191 N. Main St., Manheim;

• Sai Mart Lancaster, 546 E. King St., Lancaster;

• Teck's News Agency, 19 W. Chestnut St., Lancaster;

• Bad Boy Toys, 44 S. Market St., Elizabethtown;

• J and K Sons Inc., 2044 W. Main St., Mount Joy.

Nik Patel, manager at Teck's, said Wednesday the product was pulled off their shelves after Corbett signed the bill last week.

"When we heard that news, we don't sell that anymore," Patel said.

Management at the other businesses were not immediately available or declined comment.

Vendors must remove the items from shelves immediately; they have 20 days to file a motion challenging the order.

The district attorney will ask for a permanent ban at a July 7 hearing in Lancaster County Court.

Lackawanna, Luzerne, Columbia, Centre and Schuylkill counties have issued similar bans.

Bath salts — the benign product — are often used for therapeutic purposes at spas. The harmful substances that abusers snort, smoke or inject have nothing in common with them but the name, the motion states.

Their sales typically yield high profits, according to Lechner, head of the DA's drug crimes unit.

"(They) are routinely sold to people of all ages, including minors, and can be deadly," he writes in the motion.

The "emerging menace," as Lechner calls it, has also had bizarre effects outside the state. Last month, officials in West Virginia arrested a man who stabbed and abused a farmer's goat. The man told police he used bath salts prior to dressing in woman's clothing and assaulting the animal.

Lechner consulted with many people while preparing the 10-page motion, including police officers and Dr. Michael Reihart, a Lancaster General Hospital emergency department physician.

Police and agents from the county's drug task force will be checking to make sure vendors are in compliance with the injunction, Stedman said.

bhambright@lnpnews.com