Coroner says Miami cannibal was NOT high on bath salts when he ate homeless man's face... he only had marijuana in his system



The Miami cannibal was not high on bath salts when he attacked a homeless man and chewed off 75 percent of his face last month, the medical examiner says.



A comprehensive toxicology test by two labs found only marijuana in Rudy Eugene's system, opening even more questions about what drove the 31-year-old to strip off his clothes and attack Ronald Poppo along the MacArthur Causeway.



The news from the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's office partially vindicates Eugene's family, who claimed in several interviews that he was a peaceful, religious man, who stayed away from hard drugs and only smoked marijuana occasionally.



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Clean: Rudy Eugene (left) was not under the influence of bath salts, alcohol, synthetic marijuana, prescription drugs, cocaine, LSD or any other substances -- just marijuana -- the medical examiner's office says. Eugene was killed by police when he was found attacking Ronald Poppo (right)



After the assault, which drew international horror, police speculated that Eugene had taken bath salts -- a designer drug that has been linked to psychotic reactions and hallucinations in some users.

The medical examiner's office ruled out the most common components found in bath salts, in addition to a host of other drugs.

'The laboratory has tested for but not detected any other street drugs, alcohol or prescription drugs, or any adulterants found in street 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,' the office said in a statement to the Miami Herald .



To be certain, officials also hired an outside forensic toxicology lab, which took a second look at the results. Those tests also confirmed the absence of bath salts, synthetic marijuana and LSD.

The results were released weeks after a Miami police union official had speculated that because Eugene's behavior had been so bizarre he was probably under the influence of bath salts.

Poppo has been living in a care facility since the gruesome attack that was captured on surveillance cameras

It's not clear what led to the May 26 attack on Mr Poppo, a 65-year-old homeless man who remains hospitalized. Poppo's family members have said they had no contact with him for more than 30 years and thought he was dead.



Police have released few details about what may have led to the attack.

Surveillance video from a nearby building shows Eugene stripping Poppo and pummeling him before appearing to hunch over and lie on top of him. The police officer who shot Eugene to death said he growled at the officer when he told him to stop.

Shortly before the attack, a person driving on the MacArthur Causeway told a 911 dispatcher a 'completely naked man' was on top of one of the light poles on the causeway and 'acting like Tarzan.'