Flakka: What is it and what does it do?
By Brenden Tuccinardi
May 29, 2015
12:01 P.M.
May 29, 2015
12:01 P.M.
For only $5, someone could get his or her hands on the newest and most powerful synthetic drug on the market. Alpha-PVP, which goes by the name Flakka on the streets is a relatively new drug and as a result researchers know very little about how it affects the brain and how addictive it is, making it very dangerous.
A close chemical cousin to cathonine the amphetamine like drug found in Bath Salts, Flakka results in feelings of extreme euphoria as well enhanced alertness and strength. Both cathonine and alpha-PVP are stimulants or “uppers,” which when used cause the brain to produce excess amounts of dopamine, the feel good chemical thus the euphoria, and norepinephrine, the chemical that makes the body more alert and increases physical strength. In addition to causing the brain to overproduce these chemicals, Flakka also inhibits the it from reabsorbing the chemicals leading to a prolonged high. But like cocaine and meth, alpha-PVP comes with a comedown, or the period in which the substance leaves the body which is followed by depression and fatigue which causes the user to take more to get rid of these feelings.
Alpha-PVP was banned in the United States by the DEA in 2014, but since then they have seen a 780% increase in the number of cases in the past three years. The main reason for this increase is the drug’s affordability. On the streets Flakka can cost as little as $5 and can easily be bought in bulk making the drug extremely accessible to those who cannot afford similar more expensive drugs like cocaine and meth.
The typical dose is miniscule weighing in at only one tenth of an ounce (0.1) and even the slightest overdose can have devastating effects, which is why the drug has claimed the lives of 42 people. When someone takes too much Flakka, they tend to become agitated and paranoid, making them violent, which when paired with the physical strength the drug provides makes for a challenging arrest. In Florida police had to chase after a man who had run naked across an intersection because according him, he was being chased by imaginary people. However, in February, another man on Flakka turned violent as he tried to kick in the glass door of the Fort Lauderdale police headquarters. Later in March another man high on the drug impaled himself on a metal fence.
Like cocaine and other amphetamines, alpha-PVP alters brain chemistry, which can result in higher tolerance of the drug making it so more and more must be consumed in order to achieve a decent high. Making researchers believe that the drug will prove to be very addictive.
Its surprising affordability and damaging side effects make Flakka a very dangerous drug and even addicts are afraid to use it because it is so volatile and they have nicknamed it “$5 intensity.” As of yet little has been determined of what Flakka can do, but one thing is for certain nothing good will come of it.
A close chemical cousin to cathonine the amphetamine like drug found in Bath Salts, Flakka results in feelings of extreme euphoria as well enhanced alertness and strength. Both cathonine and alpha-PVP are stimulants or “uppers,” which when used cause the brain to produce excess amounts of dopamine, the feel good chemical thus the euphoria, and norepinephrine, the chemical that makes the body more alert and increases physical strength. In addition to causing the brain to overproduce these chemicals, Flakka also inhibits the it from reabsorbing the chemicals leading to a prolonged high. But like cocaine and meth, alpha-PVP comes with a comedown, or the period in which the substance leaves the body which is followed by depression and fatigue which causes the user to take more to get rid of these feelings.
Alpha-PVP was banned in the United States by the DEA in 2014, but since then they have seen a 780% increase in the number of cases in the past three years. The main reason for this increase is the drug’s affordability. On the streets Flakka can cost as little as $5 and can easily be bought in bulk making the drug extremely accessible to those who cannot afford similar more expensive drugs like cocaine and meth.
The typical dose is miniscule weighing in at only one tenth of an ounce (0.1) and even the slightest overdose can have devastating effects, which is why the drug has claimed the lives of 42 people. When someone takes too much Flakka, they tend to become agitated and paranoid, making them violent, which when paired with the physical strength the drug provides makes for a challenging arrest. In Florida police had to chase after a man who had run naked across an intersection because according him, he was being chased by imaginary people. However, in February, another man on Flakka turned violent as he tried to kick in the glass door of the Fort Lauderdale police headquarters. Later in March another man high on the drug impaled himself on a metal fence.
Like cocaine and other amphetamines, alpha-PVP alters brain chemistry, which can result in higher tolerance of the drug making it so more and more must be consumed in order to achieve a decent high. Making researchers believe that the drug will prove to be very addictive.
Its surprising affordability and damaging side effects make Flakka a very dangerous drug and even addicts are afraid to use it because it is so volatile and they have nicknamed it “$5 intensity.” As of yet little has been determined of what Flakka can do, but one thing is for certain nothing good will come of it.