Rudy Eugene -- AKA the "Miami Zombie" -- Was Not High on Bath Salts, Toxicology Report Shows

Rudy Eugene -- AKA the "Miami Zombie" -- Was Not High on Bath Salts, Toxicology Report Shows


Rudy Eugene, AKA the Miami Zombie, was not high on bath salts when he ate Ronald Poppo's face last month. The toxicology report found only marijuana in his system-- not the synthetic drugs the media was hoping for.

As I previously reported, the media's insistence that Rudy Eugene was high on bath salts stemmed from an uniformed police officer's speculation. His misrepresentation of facts then snowballed into dozens of false reports, claiming not only that Eugene was high on bath salts, but also that bath salts are a 'super-potent form of LSD' -- another lie. Now, the mainstream media must confront the fact that, despite all of their rumor-mongering and subsequent calls for a baths salts ban, Rudy Eugene was probably mentally ill.

Mental illness was always the most likely cause behind the "Miami Zombie" story. But pinning a tragedy to a drug scare is easier (and perhaps more lucrative) than explaining a non-existent safety net for the mentally ill. Bath salts, the mainstream media naively believes, can be banned and eradicated. Treating mental illness is a far more complicated story. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/993407/rudy_eugene_--_aka_the_%22miami_zombie%22__--_was_not_high_on_bath_salts%2C_toxicology_report_shows/