Miami Face-eater Was Not On Bath Salts

Christi • June 28, 2012 • 0 Comments

Test shows Miami face-eater only had marijuana in his body.

Toxicology performed on Rudy Eugene shows that there was no other drug in his system except for marijuana.

“The department’s toxicology laboratory has identified the active components of marijuana,” the medical examiner said in a statement, according to NBC Miami. “The laboratory has tested for but not detected any other street drugs, alcohol or prescription drugs…This includes cocaine, LSD, amphetamines (Extasy, Meth and others), phencyclidine (PCP or Angel Dust), heroin, oxycodone, Xanax, synthetic marijuana (Spice), and many other similar compounds.”

It was previously believed that Eugene may have been under the influence of bath salts when he attacked Ronald Poppo in a Miami highway.

A second forensic toxicology confirmed that there was no trace of bath salts in Eugene’s body.

However, the lab did not disclose any information on the reported undigested pills in Eugene’s stomach.

An expert told Associate Press that marijuana by itself cannot cause such behavior.

“The problem today is that there is an almost an infinite number of chemical substances out there that can trigger unusual behavior,” said Dr. Bruce Goldberger, Professor and Director of Toxicology at the University of Florida.

Goldberger said that the medical examiner’s office in Miami is known for doing thorough work and that he’s confident they and the independent lab covered as much ground as possible. But it’s nearly impossible for toxicology testing to keep pace with new formulations of synthetic drugs.

“…The challenge today for the toxicology lab is to stay on top of these new chemicals and develop methodologies for them, but it’s very difficult and very expensive.” Goldberger said. “There is no one test or combination of tests that can detect every possible substance out there.”

According to Eugene’s family, they did not expect this kind of violence from him even though he has been accused of threatening to hurt family members before. His family said that he participated in Bible study, read the Koran and told friends he intended to stop smoking marijuana.

His brother is still in shock of what happened.

“Anybody who knew him knows this wasn’t the person we knew him to be. Whatever triggered him, there is no answer for this,” he said.

As for the face-eating victim, Ronald Poppo, he is doing well. He is recuperating at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center. He lost one eye, his nose, and is expecting to undergo several surgeries to repair his wounds as well as face reconstruction.