What you need to know about flakka, the latest drug causing erratic behaviour National

“The high is pretty high and getting off takes longer,” Cidambi said. Its popularity is on the rise in the United States, and sometimes it is also called gravel due to its flakey appearance. Regular flakka use may lead to permanent neurologic effects as it can destroy neurons. Flakka is chemically similar to the street drug bath salts, which also tends to appear like gravel.

Pharmacological Treatment

• Similar in form to broken glass, Flakka is a crystal-like substance, usually white or pink in color.
• Α-PVP produces cross-tolerance with all dopaminergic stimulants, meaning that after the consumption of α-PVP all stimulants will have a reduced effect.
• This setting can be particularly beneficial for those with severe addiction or a history of relapse.
• Evidence suggests the illegal drug has only recently come on the scene.
• The FSU fraternity brother grunted like an animal as police tried to subdue him during the Monday night attack, officials said.

Flakka originally became popular as a new synthetic drug in South Florida with people looking for a cheap high. Flakka is the latest in a selection of synthetic drugs used in the United States.The illegal substance can sell on the streets for as little as five dollars a hit. Tolerance to many of the effects of α-PVP develops with prolonged and repeated use. This results in users having to administer increasingly large doses to achieve the same effects. 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). Α-PVP produces cross-tolerance with all dopaminergic stimulants, meaning that after the consumption of α-PVP all stimulants will have a reduced effect.

Street Names for Flakka

Why the low cost means young people are at risk.Since flakka’s cheap, it’s a popular drug among college students, as well as low-income people and the homeless population. The designer drug is typically sold online or in the streets for $3 to $5 a hit, whereas a gram of cocaine in the states can cost anywhere from $62 to $80 on average. Many young adults can’t afford to drop that kind of cash, said Cidambi. Flakka also doesn’t carry the stigma cocaine does – at least that’s what some of Cidambi’s college-aged patients told her. Some young addicts believe flakka is just “not as bad as cocaine,” she said. As a psychostimulant, flakka drug use tends to make the user feel symptoms related to increased activity of the central nervous system.

Flakka (Zombie Drug) vs. Bath Salts

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate the brain’s reward and pleasure centers. Additionally, Flakka hinders the reuptake of this neurotransmitter by the brain cells, producing an intense feeling of euphoria. As with all substance abuse, those experiencing addiction to flakka should screen for co-occurring mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety. Recently, the abuse of synthetic drugs has re-emerged as a significant worldwide issue. Another serious, potentially lingering side effect of flakka is the effect on kidneys. The drug can cause muscles to break down, as a result of hyperthermia, taking a toll on kidneys.

• One single dose can also lead a user into severe paranoia, aggression, and hyper-stimulation.
• Cocaine and methamphetamine have similar modes of action in the brain, but the chemicals in flakka have longer-lasting effects, Hall said.
• While psychoactive substances like alcohol, opium, and cannabis have been around for thousands of years, many other drugs appearing on the streets in 2021 are far more recent and far less well understood.
• Authorities believe Harrouff was high on flakka, a highly addictive designer drug that causes paranoia and psychosis.
• As a psychostimulant, flakka drug use tends to make the user feel symptoms related to increased activity of the central nervous system.
• Hall said that there are about three or four hospitalizations a day in Broward County in South Florida, and more on weekends.
• Flakka has the tendency to increase a user’s body temperature to 104 degrees Celsius or higher.

After effects

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration placed a temporary ban on a-PVP and nine of synthetic cathinones in March 2014. The designer drug is still classified by the DEA as a Schedule I Controlled Substance as of May of this year. At least 20 other countries have banned or regulated a-PVP in some way. The Chinese government banned flakka and 115 other synthetic drugs as of October 1st – just weeks before the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Bo Peng, one of China’s biggest flakka traffickers. Dubbed the “Devil’s Drug,” flakka’s full name is alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone, and is a cathinone, which is similar to bath salts, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported in April.

Here’s what you need to know about the latest controversial designer drug. Despite early and well-publicized reports of people high on flakka literally eating others in fits of insanity, there is no evidence that Flakka causes berserk cannibalism. Avenues Recovery is a community-based drug and alcohol rehabilitation center with locations across the United States. China, Pakistan and India are the main suppliers of flakka, Forbes reported. Almost anyone can purchase a kilogram of the drug online for about $2000, and bring in up to $50,000 in profit, NBC reported.

What are the side effects of Flakka?

The chemical name for this is α-pyrrolidinopentiophenone, which is sometimes shortened to α-PVP. Flakka is known to spike your body temperature up to 104 degrees, if not higher. An extremely high body temperature can have what is flakka drug wikipedia dire consequences – it can lead to kidney damage or kidney failure, and even death.