Flakka: Learn the Psychological Dangers of the ‘Zombie Drug

In Fort Lauderdale last month, a man tried to break down the front door of a local precinct and told police officers he was high on flakka. A few weeks later, another man who said he had just smoked flakka impaled himself while trying to scale a fence around the police station. In Lake Worth, a city in Palm Beach County, a man armed with a gun — and naked — stood on a rooftop and announced, «I feel delusional, and I’m hallucinating!» He told authorities he had vaped flakka with an e-cigarette.

The immediate and long-term effects of cathinones can rival some of the strongest crystal meth and cocaine. Flakka is most typically made from the chemical alpha-PVP, which is a synthetic version of the amphetamine-like stimulant cathinone. Cathinones are chemicals derived from the khat plant grown in the Middle East and Somalia, where 2c drug effects of 2c the leaves are frequently chewed for a euphoric buzz. Flakka is a designer drug that can be snorted, smoked, injected or swallowed. It may also be combined with other, softer drugs such as marijuana. Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute found that the potency and addictiveness of alpha-PVP is similar to that of bath salts.

Researchers have not thoroughly clinically studied the long-term effects of Flakka, but renal failure can occur that is irreversible. Flakka can be smoked, vaped with an e-cigarette, snorted, injected, or swallowed. When heated up, it gives off a foul-smelling smoke characterized as smelling like dirty socks. Bath salts come in powder form, which is typically packaged in gelatin capsules.

1. They mimic the stimulant effects similar to those resulting from illegal drugs.
2. This is likely a result of the zombie/cannibal label, as perception of harm often leads to less use.
3. BetterHelp can connect you to an addiction and mental health counselor.
4. «We’re starting to see a rash of cases of a syndrome referred to as excited delirium,» said Hall.
5. Flakka is a highly addictive and dangerous drug, otherwise known as alpha-PVP (alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone.) It is an amphetamine-like stimulant that belongs to the cathinone drug class.
6. The case of Austin Harrouff is almost certainly the most tragic of all the flakka drug stories, yet it’s hardly the most bizarre.

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. Synthetic cathinones are also labeled as ‘not for human consumption.’ These labels help hide the real short & long-term effects of heroin use reason for the product’s existence, so the drugs distribute easily. Motivational incentives offer rewards to patients who remain substance-free. However, several traditional drug treatment approaches can help someone addicted to flakka become sober. BetterHelp can connect you to an addiction and mental health counselor.

What Are The Effects Of Flakka?

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 chemically similar to the street drug known as bath salts or MDPV. Users have reported that the drug use of flakka can trigger intense and uncontrollable urges to ingest the drug again. Synthetic drugs are illicitly created to produce substances that differ slightly from legal drugs.

The case of Austin Harrouff is almost certainly the most tragic of all the flakka drug stories, yet it’s hardly the most bizarre. Over the past several years, dozens of cases have made headlines and helped make the flakka drug as feared as it is today. But flakka’s effects prove that it’s certainly no mere watered-down version of bath salts. Flakka is one of a number of cathinone-based drugs that are produced in China and sold online to small-time drug gangs in the U.S. Hall says that with small investment of only a few thousand dollars, a dealer can walk away with as much as $75,000. If someone exhibits bizarre or harmful behaviors resulting from flakka use, call 911 immediately.

The public prosecutor has also seen the number of flakka dealers increase in West Flanders. That is why the West Flanders public prosecutor’s office has now decided to take decisive action. This is understandable as much of the public is now obsessed with zombie TV shows. But we need to ensure that we remain cautious about news we hear, and responsible for news we share. Moreover, even if some enterprising American dealers don’t find another overseas flakka source, another drug will soon take its place. Just like that, it seemed the effects of the flakka epidemic had swiftly ended.

alpha-Pyrrolidinopentiophenone

The illegal substance can sell on the streets for as little as five dollars a hit. 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.

It’s above all in western parts that use of the drug has been on the rise. In West Flanders the public prosecutor sees the number of cases steadily increasing and is eager to take decisive action against flakka dealers and users. Flakka is called a «zombie drug» because users are no longer fully conscious and make uncontrolled movements.

Law enforcement and community activists were instrumental in limiting the damage done by the drug’s dangerous effects. Most reports of Flakka after 2016 turned out to be other similar chemicals in the bath salt family. As with all substance abuse, those experiencing addiction to flakka should screen for co-occurring mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety. Flakka is an addictive drug that people use to obtain a cheap, quick, and euphoric high. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter involved in the pleasure and reward center of the brain, which gives off that euphoric feeling.

“Bath salts” such as Flakka quickly became extremely stigmatized drugs in response to media coverage of users supposedly turning into zombies or cannibals. As someone who studies drug use epidemiology, I think it is very important to separate truth from myth when it comes to drugs. “At the height of the flakka craze, you were almost praying for crack cocaine to come back,” Don Maines, a drug treatment counselor with the Broward County sheriff’s office told The Washington Post.

The flakka “epidemic” — in as much as it is one — is not a national one. Florida, particularly southeastern Florida, has seen the vast majority of cases. There, authorities like the World Health Organization estimate that each day, more than 10 million people take advantage of the “state of euphoria and elation with feelings of increased alertness and arousal” that the drug causes. While it’s both relatively little-known and almost universally illegal in the West, khat has long been and still is openly and legally used in its native region.

Flakka Withdrawal Symptoms

In August, 19-year-old Austin Harrouff attacked and killed a couple in their Florida home, and he was found biting the face and abdomen of one of his victims. The attacker’s parents reported he had displayed strange behavior for months prior to the incident and that he possibly suffered from undiagnosed schizophrenia. Authorities, however, believed Harouff was likely high on the new street drug called Flakka, as use had previously been attributed to widespread incidents of strange and sometimes violent behavior. Hall says designer drugs like flakka are not always pure, which means that frequently the customer and dealer don’t actually know what’s in the product.

Flakka is a dangerous drug, but it doesn’t turn you into a zombie

The cathinones also inhibit the reuptake of epinephrine, norepinephrine, and serotonin in the central nervous system. This inhibition causes an increase in the hormones that elevate mood. This is because the «comedown» after drug ingestion causes feelings of depression and being down. A 47-year-old dealer from Diksmuide and his 42-year-old accomplice from Houthulst received 38-month and 18-month prison sentences respectively for dealing flakka. Flakka is particularly infamous for being tied to rashes of bizarre behavior in Florida and recently in Australia. On Nov. 23, however, media coverage of Harouff’s toxicology tests revealed that Flakka was not detected in Harrouff’s system.

Adverse effects

The DEA classifies flakka as a Schedule I substance, making it illegal in the United States. Schedule I drugs have no acceptable medical purposes and a high potential learn the risks of combining ativan and alcohol for abuse. Although alpha-PVP use in that area has largely subsided, the dangerous drug continues to harm people in other regions of the United States.