For as long as humans have existed, they have searched for different kinds of highs. Some get their highs from thrills while others settle for getting them from substances. In their attempts to find new different highs people end up trying all sorts of strange substances. Recently people have started taking a drug that takes “mind numbing high” to a whole new level.
#1
The drug called Flakka is turning people into walking zombies in fits of what experts say is “instant insanity.” After starting slowly the drug is now spreading across the US at an alarming rate.
Much like Molly, MDA, and Ecstasy, Flakka is an amphetamine that increases dopamine production. At first, it will make you more alert and blissful but this is followed by periods of aggression and abnormal feats of strength.
“It reminds me of Angel Dust in the early 80s,” says Jon Lapook, MD. “I was in the emergency room at Columbia [University Medical Center] back then and I knew when someone came in ‘dusted’ because they’d have seven policemen holding down every part of their body and it seemed like they had super-human strength — and it sounds like this is the same sort of thing.”
#2
The drug, also known as gravel, is related to bath salts which if you remember were linked to the extreme face-eating attack in Miami years ago. The drug is man-made, manufactured in China. The drug initially spread slowly until around 2013 when the popularity of the drug exploded. Florida has been at the forefront of the Flakka abuse though the epidemic has spread to the Midwest in recent years.
#3
Flakka has no natural components. Its pharmaceutical name is Pyrrolidinopentiophenone or a-PVP. This chemical compound was originally created in the 1960s. Drug agencies are calling it “second-generation bath salts.” Flakka comes in a rotten smelling pink or white crystal that is either snorted, injected, eaten or vaped. Much like bath salts, it comes in plastic bags that are labeled “not for human consumption.”
#4
Flakka can offer similar effects to those of cocaine and meth without the hefty cost. That’s part of the reason why the drug has become so popular. It’s 10 times more powerful than coke with a quarter of the cost. The high is said to last for as long as several days. The drug is also much more addictive than any natural drug with doctors finding that it can take up to 4 times as long to kick the chemical dependence as it does for heroin.
#5
Flakka can spike your body temperature over 104 degrees. Having a body temperature that high can wreak havoc on your body. We are talking kidney damage or failure and even death. The drug can raise your blood pressure and cause heart attacks, aneurysms, strokes, or heart failure.
#6
At first, when you take the drug you feel a pleasant euphoria that makes you very sociable, focused, stimulated and sexual. The highs wear off quickly after the first few doses making users increase the amount of Flakka they use. The more you use, the worse you feel as the negative side effects begin to pile up. Users being to hallucinate while suffering from extreme paranoia. In some cases it also causes psychosis.
Vaping the substance is the worst possible way to take it as it goes directly into your bloodstream, scientists say.
#7
Because the drug is so cheap, it’s popular among college students and those who have low-income. The drug is typically sold online or on the street for between $3 and $5. Compare that to a gram of cocaine which can cost between $62 and $80 and you see where the problem begins.
The DEA placed a temporary ban a-PVP and 9 other similar drugs in 2014 but the substance being illegal tends to not matter to the drug producers for very long. Since the substance is completely synthetic they just alter the chemical structure just enough to get around the law. That’s how Molly let to bath salts in the first place. If you wait long enough, you can get an even cheaper substitute.
#8
https://youtu.be/tObMPRtfQeo
This drug doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon. That’s sad because when you overload your body with too many neurotransmitters, every single organ system can be affected. This can lead to irregular heartbeat, seizure, and even death. Just look at what the drug did to this woman.
With enough exposure on YouTube and other social media why would anyone want to be a part of this? Who would want to lose control like that and possibly hurt themself or someone else?
There is a reason why they call it dope. Now you know.