By now you’ve likely heard the horrifying tale of the naked Florida man who was shot by police while eating another man’s face. What possessed Rudy Eugene to consume 75-percent of a homeless man’s face? Drugs, obviously. It’s not totally clear which drugs Eugene was on, but police have speculated that the attack was prompted by cocaine psychosis. That sounds like a serious condition. But what exactly is it?
Cocaine psychosis is a temporary mental condition…
Cocaine psychosis is actually a subset of “stimulant psychosis”—which can be caused by prescription amphetamines (finals week study drugs!), crystal methamphetamine, and other uppers. Even caffeine has been known to cause stimulent psychosis.
…usually caused by taking excessive quantities of cocaine…
Cocaine psychosis is basically an overdose in your mind. The condition usually befalls unfortunate souls with a history of cocaine or crack abuse. Cocaine is one of the most addictive substances on earth, and as with other drugs, your body builds up a tolerance against it. Over time, addicts need to consume more and more cocaine to get high. Cocaine gives a boost to your sympathetic nervous system filling your body with good vibrations, but while in that supercharged state, things can get ugly.
…that makes the sufferer feel crazy and act erratically…
Though there are physical effects—seizures for example—which stem from ingesting too much cocaine, the most recognizable symptoms of cocaine psychosis, as the name implies, are psychological. These effects range from paranoia to delusional behavior to outright hallucinations. Pretty similar to what you’d expect from someone who has taken too much LSD or any other hallucinogenic drug. And in addition to messing with the delicate balance of neurotransmitters like serotonin, using huge amounts of cocaine scrambles your brain’s capacity for executive function. That means your judgement and logic go out the window.
…but is different from the regular effects of cocaine…
Through TV and movies, and that annoyingly talkative guy who cornered you at a party, you’re probably familiar with the usual effects of cocaine use. The drug causes increased energy levels, a feeling of euphoria, and occasionalky “cocainomania”—a stimulant induced megalomania. Usual cocaine use may alter your perception of yourself or of reality, but you do not lose a grip in the same ways as you do while in the throws of a psychotic episode.
…and can lead to violent behavior.
And as we learned from the episode in Florida, cocaine psychosis can turn violent. In fact, according to NIH, 55-percent of people with “Cocaine-induced psychiatric symptoms” exhibited cocaine-related violent behaviors. Granted much of this violence is performed in pursuit of crack, it’s not far off from the level of lunacy required to eat a fellow human being’s face off their body while they are still alive.
Image by FXEGS Javier Espuny/Shutterstock
