Alcohol Linked to More Cannibal Attacks Than Bath Salts

Booze has a worse record for zombie-style crimes

Forget bath salts. What about that salt on your margarita - is that a bigger danger?

Maybe so says author Rob Arthur, who reminds us of the ongoing problem of alcoholism, a drug that is in fact linked to more cannibalistic attacks than most of the hard, illegal and sensationalized drugs.

"Scientists have found that alcohol's correlation with violence dwarfs that of all other drugs," writes Arthur, "including PCP, steroids, and stimulants like bath salts." Such violence includes cannibalism, perhaps best (or worst) exemplified by the notorious Jeffrey Dahmer, who Arthur notes was a lifelong alcoholic. But lesser figures too, such as the Russian man who apparently butchered a friend and cooked him because, he told police, "we got short of snacks to eat with our vodka."

Should lawmakers take the dangers of alcohol more seriously?

[Stratton]

This is false and misleading. More people drink alcohol so of course there will be more incidents of everything for alchohol. But when you look at percentages, a much higher percentage of people who abuse bath salts have attempted bizarre, unprovoked animalistic attacks.

Alcohol doesn't make people violent, it simply frees violent people from their inhibitions. I've been drinking alcohol for almost 20 years and even when I used to get good and stinking drunk, it never made me violent, because I'm not a violent person.

[Bobolinsky]

Nice deconstruction Stratton... Tear it up by it's roots, name it, and then shove it in their faces :)

[Stratton]

Thanks. My hope is that if more and more people hold these media propaganda tactics up to the light of day, eventually they will give up on them.

[SophieB]

I agree, nice deconstruction. The media skew data interpretation by failing to give any meaningful explanation or context. In my opinion, this type of reporting is irresponsible and unethical.

[Amtrak_Sam]

It's not false but perhaps misleading, depending on what conclusion you're trying to lead people to.

But in absolute numbers/overall impact it's correct, alcohol IS related to more incidents of these types. Maybe you think all the nice people who drink alcohol makes such release from inhibitions for the few worth it, but not everyone will agree.

[Stratton]

Amtrak Sam - So you believe that people who can control themselves should be prevented from enjoying something like alcohol because of the few who can't? That the government should be our nanny and save us from ourselves? Or what?

[Bobolinsky]

And Cannibal attacks caused by Cannabis? Any statistics on that one? The Miami Cannibal had weed in his system...

Does anyone think it had anything to do with it? Yeah... me neither. In fact, after I read that they didn't detect bath salts... my first thought was a new synthetic drug.... Without a test yet... and now we see...

Miami Cannibal Could Have Been on Some Newfangled, Undetectable Drug
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/06/miami-ca...

[Fishbone345]

Maybe he was just a Zombie.

[Eclipse920]

yup...Zombies

[FRitzKlenner5]

Here it comes. Why does the futuristic society in the old Judge Dredd film come to mind? If they outlawed alcohol in this country again, do you think that the members of the Bildeberg Group would empty out their liquor cabinets and join in the fun? I think not...and it's THEIR media puppets that are being used to push this. The REAL problem is that once everyone is working for the state, they will not want anything interfering with your continued daily performance and allegiance. Our Founding Fathers enjoyed the occasional smoke and spirit, and this is just another slash at our freedoms, much like "hate-speech" legislation and "gun control". Most of us never saw this coming under the Obama administration, and that's what makes the guy so dangerous.

[marine1]

There are cattle people and there are sheep people and both need to beware of the wolves.

[Keyjo]

Of course the incidence of alcohol related zombies will be higher. The incidence of people addicted to the drug alcohol is higher.
For me, 420 is preferable to anything else in the mind altering category: I've never known a pot head to devour anything more serious than a foot long sandwich and a large bag of chips. In fact I can't recall any substantial acts of violence beyond grab-ass from a stoned stoner.

[ComeToJESUS777]

Alcohol is VERY dangerous, and indeed is WORSE than any other drug. That is why JESUS warned us by saying "refrain from strong drink". In fact He also said "don't even look at it" (because it's also very tempting).. May He have mercy on all those who turn a deaf ear to Him and continue in such a horrible thing and condone it.

[MizzMayhem]

This is the biggest facepalm I've seen today. But it's only nearly 3.... Has anyone thought that maybe, mental health issues and ANY kind of drug is to blame. Don't blame it on the drugs. The people obviously have untreated mental illnesses. Alcohol doesn't cause cannibalism, mentally unstable people who want to eat other people is what causes cannibalism.

[Jma1323]

So people are just mad. Whatever drug they want to use while being batty its not the drug that causes cannibalism.

[IMAQT]

Alcohol is the most abused drug of all. It kills more than all illegal drugs combined. It accounts for 50% of all traffic deaths and has caused pain and destroyed literally millions of American families.
But it is legal, why? Because we realized the costs of prohibition far outweighed the benefits. Our constitution will be forever scarred because two amendments were passed, one to make it legal, another to make it legal again. We have vitrually the identical problems with the drug war, but after 75 years of prohibition we keep trying. Prohibition did not work, is not working and will not work. Those that do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.

[iamme]

You have to be kidding if you think alcohol does not lead to violence.

2/3 of victims of abuse/assault from either a past spouse, current or past boy/girl friend was alcohol related.

75% of spouse abuse is alcohol related.

40% of all auto fatalities and violent crimes involve alcohol.

86% of homocide offenders used alcohol at the time of their crime.

13% of child abusers, 60% of sexual offenders.

And yes there are many more that drink so there will be more.

But alcohol is as bad if a drug as there is in the long run. It is highly addictive and is ctually more physically and mentally harmful than heroin.

Harms to the user included things such as drug-specific or drug-related death, damage to health, drug dependence and loss of relationships, while harms to others included crime, environmental damage, family conflict, international damage, economic cost, and damage to community cohesion.

Drugs were then scored out of 100, with 100 given to the most harmful drug and zero indicating no harm at all.

The scientists found alcohol was most harmful, with a score of 72, followed by heroin with 55 and crack with 54.

Among some of the other drugs assessed were crystal meth (33), cocaine (27), tobacco (26), amphetamine or speed (23), cannabis (20), benzodiazepines, such as Valium (15), ketamine (15), methadone (14), mephedrone (13), ecstasy (9), anabolic steroids (9), LSD (7) and magic mushrooms (5).

People need to do more research before the spew unknowledgable replies

[Kamlhj]

Can cantankerous carnivorous cannibis-craved cannibals cause alcoholic-acclivated accidental accumulating acclamations?

[SIC]

Yes.

[morphine-bunni]

lawmakers need to STOP worrying about people's personal lives. so what if the ooccasional dumb*ss gets bit by a crazy person.? sh*t happens, it's just LIFE.