Beware of Cloud Nine 'bath salts,' Miami police say

The Miami police department has warned of an over-the-counter drug line dubbed Cloud Nine, after a growling, naked homeless man, high on “bath salts” and drunk on Four Loko threatened to eat police officers trying to arrest him at a restaurant last Saturday.

According to AFP, Brandon De Leon, 21, threw himself at the patrol car’s barrier window and shouted to police officers, "I'm going to eat you!"

The De Leon incident is the second Miami “zombie” attack linked to bath salts in recent weeks.

On May 26th, a Miami police officer shot down Rudy Eugene who was found gnawing on the face of a 65-year-old homeless man. Though bath salt use was suspected, no official evidence has linked the designer drug to the attack.

Cloud Nine is "addictive and dangerous,” the police memo said.

First developed in Europe, “Bath salts” are a synthetic drug found in convenience stores and head shops.

According to the Wall Street Journal, federal lawmakers are working to outlaw the drug by adding it to the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act.

In a release on Cloud Nine, North Miami Beach’s Police Director Thomas A. Carney said that the drug induces Ecstasy-like feelings in its users including “excessive sweating, headaches, heart palpitations, nausea, severe panic attacks, hallucinations, paranoia, anxiety, agitation and erratic behavior.”

States are also taking action. Alaska Governor Sean Parnell signed legislation Wednesday outlawing synthetic drugs marketed as "bath salts."

In a statement Monday, Delaware Senator Chris Coons supported legal action against "bath salts," saying that "Dangerous drugs like bath salts are terrorizing our communities and destroying lives."

"Bath salts" usually sell for about $20 to $50.