Treatment centers in Broward County, Florida, admitted only six flakka users in January, compared with about 50 a month in the fall. Hall said that there are about three or four hospitalizations a day in Broward County in South Florida, and more on weekends. It is unclear why the Sunshine State is a hotbed for flakka abuse; “it’s a major question in our community,” Hall said. A man in South Florida who broke down the hurricane-proof doors of a police department admitted to being on flakka. A girl in Melbourne, Florida, ran through the street screaming that she was Satan while on a flakka trip.
- Anecdotal reports suggest that there do not seem to be any negative health effects attributed to simply trying this substance at low to moderate doses by itself and using it sparingly (but nothing can be guaranteed).
- Like bath salts, the substance is packaged in plastic bags or vials and labeled “not for human consumption” or “plant food.” You can buy it online or off the street.
- If you, or someone you know, is abusing Flakka, it’s important you get help.
- The year 2015 saw hundreds of deaths related to the drug Flakka—most often resulting from overdose, heart attack, and suicide.
- In the excited delirium state, restrained patients struggle to free themselves, scream, flail, and can even have seizures.
Why Does Flakka Impact the Brain So Strongly?
The United States and Europe put pressure on China to ban these substances, and the Chinese government acted swiftly. Because of this affordability, the drug is appealing to economically vulnerable groups, contributing to pockets of higher usage despite overall modest national prevalence. While flakka may not be as widespread as opioids or methamphetamine, it has made substantial inroads in specific regions, particularly in pockets of the Southeastern United States. Because flakka’s potency can spark life-threatening complications (high fever, heart issues), using this drug can lead to emergency room overcrowding. Essentially, it stops the normal recycling of these neurotransmitters.
- After that, it takes about days for the tolerance to be reduced to half and weeks to be back at baseline (in the absence of further consumption).
- Flakka blocks a user’s dopamine and norepinephrine transporter proteins from functioning properly in the brain.
- Flakka is a highly potent drug that can be snorted, injected, eaten, smoked, or vaporized in e-cigarettes.
- Signs of use include paranoia, hallucinations, violent behavior and self-injury.
One single dose—costing under five dollars—can give a user an intense, fleeting high. One single dose can also lead a user into severe paranoia, aggression, and hyper-stimulation. flakka wikipedia The high from Flakka can last up to several hours, much longer than that of cocaine. Authorities believe Harrouff was high on flakka, a highly addictive designer drug that causes paranoia and psychosis. Flakka, sometimes known as gravel, is closely related to bath salts, a synthetic cathinone that police linked to the infamous face-eating attack in Miami four years ago. The man-made drug that’s manufactured primarily in China entered the states only a few years ago, but didn’t soar in popularity until 2013.
Is street drug flakka gone for good?
Evidence suggests the illegal drug has only recently come on the scene. When α-PVP is cooked with other chemicals, such as acetone and amorphous, and allowed to dry it will cause the mixture to crystallize. The α-PVP crystals are packaged and look like other bath salts on the market. But then, just as quickly as it came on the scene, flakka seems to have nearly vanished. Sixty-three users died in South Florida between September 2014 and December 2015, but there have been no flakka-related deaths in 2016.
How to Talk to Your Kids About Drugs
The pharmaceutical name for the designer drug is a-Pyrrolidinopentiophenone – otherwise known as a-PVP or alpha-PVP – a chemical compound originally synthesized in the 1960s. The Drug Policy Alliance calls it the “second-generation bath salts.” Flakka comes as a foul-smelling white or pink crystal that, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, you can snort, eat, inject or even vape. Like bath salts, the substance is packaged in plastic bags or vials and labeled “not for human consumption” or “plant food.” You can buy it online or off the street. Alpha-Pyrrolidinovalerophenone (also known as α-PVP, A-PVP, alpha-PVP, and flakka) is a novel stimulant substance of the cathinone and pyrrolidinophenone classes.
The epicenter of the flakka epidemic was Broward County, Florida, which includes the city of Fort Lauderdale. Recognising you have a problem is the first step to overcoming addiction. If your Flakka use is out of control or you suspect a loved one is struggling with Flakka abuse, get help today from Delamere.
Α-PVP’s structure consists of a cathinone core with a propyl group substituted at the alpha carbon, and a pyrrolidine ring at the amino group. Although a typical flakka high can last one to several hours, it is possible that the neurological effects can be permanent. Not only does the drug sit on neurons, it could also destroy them, Hall said. And because flakka, like bath salts, hang around in the brain for longer than cocaine, the extent of the destruction could be greater.
On one side of the spectrum, use of the drug can lead to euphoria, dancing, and spastic movements. On the other end, users will experience delusions, hallucinations, seizures, muscle cramps and spasms. In the worst cases, Flakka use can cause kidney failure, heart attacks, and a dangerous spike in body temperature. Flakka is a synthetic cathinone drug chemically similar to bath salts, whose effects mirror that of the stimulant cocaine. It most commonly takes the form of white or pink, foul-smelling crystals that can be eaten, snorted, injected, smoked, or vaporized.
What is Flakka?: The Latest Illicit Drug Trend Among Teens and Young Adults
We take a holistic approach to healing at our state-of-the-art wellness retreat in the heart of Cheshire. Guests undergo a complete transformation physically, mentally and emotionally during a tailormade drug rehab programme which includes a safe and comfortable drug detox. We help people to understand what got them here in the first place and to establish positive actions that can help them out of addiction. Signs of use include paranoia, hallucinations, violent behavior and self-injury. If you’re concerned your child may be using flakka or other substances, the following can help you address the behavior more effectively. Flakka, being related to amphetamines, causes alertness, hyperactivity, anxiety, profuse sweating, and extreme agitation.
It is an ongoing challenge, as each time one type of bath salt is made illegal, the drug labs change the chemical structure slightly and a new drug that is technically not illegal is created. In the case of flakka, the new chemical is called alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone or alpha-PVP. Drug users take flakka to get a feeling of euphoria, a heightened sense of awareness, stimulation, and energy. Flakka is cheap and highly addictive, two factors that predominantly led to its recent surge.
Flakka was also very inexpensive, costing as little as $5 for a dose. This caused people most at risk, poor desperate drug addicts and homeless people, to use it instead of more expensive drugs like cocaine or methamphetamines. As a relatively new drug, the long-term effects of Flakka haven’t been widely studied but all psychoactive drugs are known to cause cardiovascular problems, respiratory difficulties, kidney and liver damage. If you are struggling with Flakka addiction, it is important to get help from a medical professional who can facilitate a full drug rehab programme. Flakka works in a similar way to other amphetamine-like synthetic substances in that it increases the level of dopamine in the brain – the neurotransmitter responsible for controlling pleasure and reward. Flakka reduces the reuptake of dopamine which produces a state of euphoria and elation, as well as increased alertness and often aggressive behaviour.
Slang terms for Flakka
However, dopamine depletion or receptor damage can lead to crashes, depression, or psychosis over time. Anecdotal reports suggest that there do not seem to be any negative health effects attributed to simply trying this substance at low to moderate doses by itself and using it sparingly (but nothing can be guaranteed). Although the Drug Enforcement Administration has placed a temporary ban on flakka, drug makers can work around this ban, such as by sticking a “not for human consumption” label on the drug, Watterson said. It will probably take several years to get the data necessary to put a federal ban on flakka, he added. And a ban can be effective, at least in discouraging potential users.
“I think this might have even played just as big a part as having the drugs banned,” he said. Florida, especially Broward County, once experienced a spike in flakka-related emergencies. Reports show this synthetic drug traveling to states like Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio.
