IT'S the story that made the world recoil in horror: a homeless man was attacked by "cannibal" Rudy Eugene, who ate the man's face before he was shot dead by Miami police.
But what drove the 31-year-old man, described by his uncle as "nice and hard-working" to an act of such insanity?
Authorities in the US suspect Eugene was under the influence of a legal synthetic drug known as "bath salts", or Ivory Wave.
Police are still trying to piece together the brutal, stomach-churning attack. After he stripped and punched the victim, found sleeping on elevated train tracks, he straddled him before starting to eat his face off.
Cars and a number of cyclists passed the two men while the attack took place.
It was almost 20 minutes until officer Jose Rivera shot Eugene shortly after he arrived. He shouted at him to stop but he simply got up and growled and continued eating at the man's face.
Bath salts are classified by the Australian Drug Foundation as a "legal high" and are sold under a number of different names.
One of those, Ivory Wave, markets its product as soothing bath salts but warns they're "not to be used as snuff" and "not for human consumption".
Yet the company is backed by am-hi-co-com, which specialises in legal highs.
What are 'bath salts'?
Bath salts have other names - Vanilla Sky and Hurricane Charlie among them - but first let's explain the chemistry.
The high comes from chemicals called mephedrone, methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), and methoyne.
The NSW Drug Squad says bath salts sold with these chemical properties are illegal.
“Bath salts as mephedrone or MDPV are analogues of illegal drugs, which means bath salts in those forms are illegal,” a spokesperson told news.com.au.
“It's an emerging trend that the drug squad is starting to see these new psychoactive substances being used.”
Geoff Munro, policy director for the Australian Drug Foundation, says bath salts can produce psychotic-like symptoms.
"There's not a lot of research into mephedrone, and the effect on someone would always be difficult to predict," he told news.com.au.
"It's synthetic and has a similar structure to amphetamine and can have a similar effect to drugs like ecstasy and amphetamine."
"Essentially it's illegal unless someone has a valid permit to import it."
MDPV is a border-controlled substance; It cannot be legally imported and a man was arrested 12 months ago by the AFP.
Highly potent
Some forms of bath salts are four times as potent as methylphenidate - known more commonly as the ADHD drug Ritalan.
The chemical high is profound, hallucinogenic and prompts cravings, almost immediately, for more.
Dr Des Williams, a chemistry expert from the University of South Australia, says bath salts can dangerously alter someone's mental state.
"Apparently it gives a really nice hit for people, but the hit doesn't last very long. And there's an intense craving for more," he told news.com.au.
"It's quite nasty with precipitating mental illness of various types."
He says bath salts are still a relative unknown.
"It was first synthesised back in 1929 but wasn't really discovered until 2003, and was even sold over the counter in some places," he said.
"It's simple a simple synthesis - made up of two molecules."
How do 'bath salts' affect users?
We spoke to Sophie, 24, from Sydney, who told us of her "horrendous" experience snorting bath salts in Los Angeles.
She bought about two grams for $80 in Hollywood, and snorted six lines on the first day of Coachella music festival. It left her in a world of pain.
"We gave it a real nudge, and it wiped me out," she told news.com.au.
"It was the worst effect of any drug I've ever had. It was horrendous."
Sophie said she was told it was a legal drug but the after-effects were far worse than she could have anticipated.
"It felt fun, made you want to dance, like ecstasy, but then I became intensely paranoid," she said.
"I was sick, really shaky, I felt paralysed. My balance was off. It was the worst experience of anything. It was a really bad experience to have."
She immediately called her sister to warn her off the drug which had been doing the rounds back home.
"It looks a bit like bath salts, but it's like crumpled up, coarse, off-white powder," she said.
"It's kind of meant to resemble cocaine."
- with the Daily Mail
