newjerseynewsroom.com

BY MIKE OLIVA

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Police shot and killed a man Saturday night in Miami as he persistently attacked another man, biting off parts of his face in the process. Identified as Rudy Eugene, the 31-year-old attacker was deemed to be under the influence of bath salts during the attack.

The naked, face-chewing, zombie-like Eugene has become the face of the anti-bath salts campaign, while his victim identified as Ronald Poppo remains in critical condition.

Bath salts, a continually emerging and dangerous product, have resulted in frequent visits to emergency rooms and poison control centers across the country according to CNN.

The amphetamine-like bath salts have been reported to create senses of euphoria, stimulation, and hallucinations in its users. Meanwhile, the Huffington Post reported users losing touch with reality and exhibiting psychotic behavior. President of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police, Armando Aguilar, commented saying the drug “causes them (users) to go completely insane and become very violent.”

Medical Director of the Oregon Poison Center, Zane Horowitz, told WebMD that drugs like bath salts unfortunately have a future of popularity.

“Cocaine, heroin, [and] marijuana are illegal, but they are all still out there. Designer drugs like bath salts never really go away. How people make them and how they sell them are the only things that change. People will abuse them until there's a crisis that brings attention to them, then they will disappear and a new drug will come along to fill the void," explained Horowitz.