Sun, Sand, and Cannibalism

In 2012, the shocking and disturbing story of a man-turned-cannibal eating off the face of a helpless vagrant made national headlines, causing an uproar surrounding the new street drug said to be responsible for such an inhumane, depraved act of violence. Perhaps even more appalling than the act itself was the fact that toxicology reports revealed the only drug, illicit or otherwise, present in 31-year-old Rudy Eugene’s system at the time of the attack was marijuana. For whatever reason, the results of the toxicology report have infrequently been acknowledged, and many continue to associate the horrendous assault with the hallucinogenic narcotic widely known as “bath salts”.

Over the course of the past several years, “bath salts” have continued to pose a serious threat to the Miami region, and numerous arrests of individuals displaying clear signs of use have been reported. There is no specific federal ban on the synthetic drug, and it is widely available on the streets and in certain local head shops. In 2009, there were only a mere 2 recorded cases of “bath salt” related arrests, where as in 2010, that number had jumped significantly to 338. And in 2011, the last year for which statistics were recorded, there were 911 arrests total directly correlated to the dangerous new designer drug.

Earlier this year, a Miami man was arrested after allegedly exposing himself to a 3-year-old girl at a North Miami Beach playground and making sexual advances towards her. Police believe he was under the influence of the synthetic drug, seeing as he engaged in telltale behavior such as stripping down and taking extreme measures to cool off – such as jumping into a nearby fountain. Many members of Miami’s homeless population have been arrested while suspected to be high on the drug, seeing as obtaining “bath salts” is an unfortunately uncomplicated process. “Bath salts” drastically increase body temperature, cause hallucinations and paranoid, psychotic episodes, and greatly increase one’s tolerance for pain.

Regrettably I have had a first-hand experience with the drug, and figured I may as well share it in order to deter further experimentation if paranoid nudity still seems like a raucous good time. I consider myself a straight-up, textbook alcoholic. However, back in college before I was even able to consider getting sober (can’t miss the toga party, duh), I dabbled in my fair share of synthetic, designer drugs. The rave scene was just starting to become popular amongst a far more comprehensive crowd, and my buddies and I enjoyed dressing up in tutus and popping a couple of mollies just as much as the next guy. During my senior year I went to EDC in Vegas with a few close friends, and wound up ingesting an ecstasy pill which was, unbeknownst to me, cut with “bath salts”. I ended up needing to leave the club I was at and locking myself in the hotel room for I legitimately believed that I was going to severely hurt someone. I underwent extreme hallucinations for the entirety of that night, and remember screaming, punching pillows, and taking all of my clothes off.

If such a tiny amount of the drug can do such traumatizing damage, I can’t begin to fathom what ingesting large quantities can do to the human psyche. Frighteningly, the number of arrests linked to alleged instances of “bath salt” abuse continues to skyrocket in Miami-Dade County. So far, the federal government has been successful in illegalizing 3 ingredients used to make the hallucinogenic narcotic, a small step in completely ridding Florida streets of the highly lethal drug. Until the distribution and widespread use of “bath salts” becomes nothing more than urban legend, be weary of unclothed individuals who look like they may be craving face.