Out of all the weird, disturbing, disgusting, frightening stories to come out of this bath-salt craze, none have really rivaled the first story–that of Rudy Eugene eating 75 percent of a homeless man’s face over Memorial Day weekend–until now.
22-year old Michael Daniel was arrested in Waco, Texas on Monday after he raged through his home, assaulting family members there, and then chased a neighbor while barking and growling. He then picked up the family dog, beat it, strangled it, and ate it.
Daniel was later examined and it was determined that he was on a “bad trip” after ingesting the synthetic drug K-2. He has been charged with felony animal cruelty and is awaiting sentencing.
With each new story regarding “bath salts” and related drugs, tales of bloody violence are attached, making people fearful for their own safety. The randomness of a lot of these crimes is perhaps the most frightening thing, as in several news reports, the victims of violence just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Such was the case of an elderly woman who invoked the wrath of a young man last week and was attacked with a shovel.
These attacks bring up many questions, especially after rumors began to run rampant last month regarding bath salts and their effects on the brain. They also bring the apparent nationwide problem of bath salt use to the forefront of a lot of minds, as some officials are trying to get them banned (they are easily accessible in some states and are even sold legally in some gas stations and head shops under inconspicuous-sounding names like Cloud-9).
For now, it looks like we will have to adopt a wait-and-see attitude, and be even more wary of strangers.
