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Despite over a month of speculation, in the past week, it has been shown that Rudy Eugene a/k/a "The Causeway Cannibal" didn't have any drug that could be considered "bath salts" within his system at the time of his death. However, that fact alone has not stopped the local or national media from releasing misinformation regarding this case. Currently it's not possible to tell if the release of misinformation is deliberate or just on account of ignorance. On June 27, 2012, the Miami-Dade Toxicology Lab released results the toxicology reports in this matter. Initially, it disclosed that 1) there were no bath salts in Rudy Eugene's system at the time of his death and 2) the only drug present in his system was marijuana. Multiple news reports stated that there were no drugs in his system that could account for the bizarre conduct. The reports additional state that Rudy Eugene was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The proposition that marijuana is not capable of producing a psychotic break in a person with schizophrenia manifesting itself in violent conduct is false. There are very valid and strong arguments to be made that marijuana ought to be legal for certain medical purposes. While smoking marijuana is, certainly, useful to individuals with certain medical conditions, it is also devastating to those who have been diagnosed with certain types of psychological health conditions. Multiple peer reviewed scientific studies all show that there exists a strong link between marijuana use and psychosis in patients with unmedicated schizophrenia. If someone with schizophrenia goes into a psychotic state, that person's behavior is completely unpredictable. A psychotic state is simply a detachment from reality. An individual in a psychotic state cannot differentiate between what is real and what is not. The effected individual can suffer from delusions as well as hallucinations and act out on those delusions and hallucinations. At times the delusions and hallucinations cause someone to act violently. "It seems like about once a month I get some teenager in my office who feels compelled to inform me that marijuana is some sort of miracle drug. These kids go on to preach the benefits of marijuana smoking for individuals that have cancer, chronic pain and other types of horrible ailments. My response is typically 'when were you diagnosed with cancer? When were you diagnosed with chronic pain?' What the media is not telling our kids is that there exists a strong correlation between smoking marijuana and schizophrenia. The connection between smoking marijuana and psychosis in individuals who have certain preexisting psychological health conditions is not speculation, it's fact. Just based on my experience working with the mentally ill and individuals with drug problems, I definitely see it as possible that the Miami attack might be attributed to marijuana combined with unmedicated schizophrenia. A lot of people may have a tough time accepting that proposition because a lot of people have smoked marijuana and the only thing they attacked was a bag of chips." stated Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorney, Michael Dye. Michael Dye is a Broward County Criminal Defense Attorney with offices located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For more information, please call (954)745-5848 or visit http://AlcoholAndDrugLaw.com.
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