The clinical team at Delamere can support you through a safe clinical drug detox and have a range of holistic rehab programmes to help you through and out of addiction. Users are not always poor, however, and sellers are not always ill-intentioned, or even aware, of the dangers of Flakka abuse. Professionals believe that the Flakka trend will turn over to children and teenagers next, who will begin using their five-dollar allowances to pay for a dose (or two) of the drug.

It has the molecular formula of C15H21NO, a cathione that is structurally related to methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and pyrovalerone. Both chemicals have been known to affect the body’s dopamine and norepinephrine level. It follows that the risks in taking Flakka is considerably more so for people with diagnosed and undiagnosed mental and physical illnesses. Last year, police in Florida, where flakka has a stronghold, busted a 22-year-old woman for importing the drug from China, the Broward Palm Beach New Times reported. The year before, a 22-year-old student at Hunter College in New York City was arrested for trafficking more than a pound of alpha-PVP from Shanghai into the U.S., according to the New York Post. For those unfamiliar with flakka, here’s what you should know about the designer drug, its make-up and what it can do to a person.

Is Flakka dangerous?

Known to cause psychosis, agitation and paranoia, Flakka shuts off the part of the brain responsible for rational control and can lead to people believing they have superhuman strength. It is a Schedule 1 drug in the US, which are drugs that are classed as the most dangerous and with the highest risk for abuse and dependence. Man-made in China, Flakka is a synthetic version of naturally occurring amphetamine-like drugs called cathinones. Like its close cousins “Bath Salts” and “Molly”, Flakka is popular with young clubbers who want the mind-altering effects of acid combined with the euphoric feelings of ecstasy. Long-term use of flakka often leaves irreparable damage to the body and mind.

Bath Salts (Synthetic Cathinones)

The struggle and agitation can lead to high core body temperature, known as hyperthermia, and extreme struggle can lead to metabolic problems in the body. In severe cases, muscle tissue starts to break down, and proteins are flooded into the bloodstream. This induces a process called rhabdomyolysis, which can lead to kidney failure because the organ cannot process so much waste. Flakka has the tendency to increase a user’s body temperature to 104 degrees Celsius or higher. Spiked temperature can lead to kidney damage or failure which could ultimately lead to death. Flakka also elevates blood pressure which could lead to stroke, heart attack or heart failure, and aneurysm.

Flakka is known to spike your body temperature up to 104 degrees, if not higher. An extremely high body temperature can have dire consequences – it can lead to kidney damage or kidney failure, and even death. The synthetic drug can also elevate your blood pressure, which can cause a heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, or heart failure, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Sustained Recovery

Like bath salts, flakka simulates the effects of cocaine and methamphetamine without the price tag. That’s why the designer drug has become so popular among college-age adults – since it’s 10 times more powerful than coke. High doses deliver a similar high to cocaine or methamphetamine, which can cause paranoid delusions and involuntary muscle jerks. In small doses, Flakka can give users an immediate sense of euphoria, boost confidence, lessen inhibitions and increase libido.

Particularly dangerous is the drug’s tendency to greatly increase heart rate and blood pressure, which can lead to acute health problems such as tachycardia, seizures and even heart attacks. Agitated patients can go into a state called «excited delirium,» which is a medical emergency. In the excited delirium state, restrained patients struggle to free themselves, scream, flail, and can even have seizures.

Cognitive effects

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. Bath salts are usually found in white or brown crystals or powder sold in small packages.

Illegal Drug Addiction

Serotonin syndrome requires immediate medical attention and can be fatal if left untreated. Because of this affordability, the drug is appealing flakka drug wikipedia to economically vulnerable groups, contributing to pockets of higher usage despite overall modest national prevalence. Because flakka’s potency can spark life-threatening complications (high fever, heart issues), using this drug can lead to emergency room overcrowding. BetterHelp can connect you to an addiction and mental health counselor. Manufacturers frequently mix α-PVP with cheap fillers such as caffeine or sugar to alter appearance and maximize profit. These additives rarely affect the psychoactive strength of the drug but can further complicate health risks.

There are five schedules of controlled substances labeled from 1-V, with the classification based on the pertaining drug’s medical applications, safety, and abuse potential. A typical dose is just 0.003 ounces (0.1 grams), but «just a little bit more will trigger very severe adverse effects,» Hall told Live Science. «Even a mild overdose can cause heart-related problems, or agitation, or severe aggression and psychosis.»

• The legal status of flakka remains a moving target as authorities try to keep pace with the evolving synthetic drug market.
• The high from Flakka can last up to several hours, much longer than that of cocaine.
• 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.
• Alpha-PVP is a stimulant, so its users encounter alertness and wakefulness.

Flakka Effects

Flakka, which is also called gravel in some parts of the country, is the street name for a chemical called alpha-PVP, or alpha-pyrrolidinovalerophenone. The chemical is a synthetic cathinone, a category that includes the mild natural stimulant khat, which people in Somalia and the Middle East have chewed for centuries. Chemically, Flakka is a next-generation, more powerful version of bath salts. Flakka was banned by the Drug Enforcement Administration in early 2014.

Here’s what you need to know about the latest controversial designer drug. Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Austin Harrouff, a 19-year-old Florida State University student, stabbed a married couple to death in their Jupiter, Florida home, and then gnawed at the male victim’s face. The FSU fraternity brother grunted like an animal as police tried to subdue him during the Monday night attack, officials said.

Like cocaine and methamphetamine, Flakka stimulates the release of feel-good brain chemicals such as dopamine and norepinephrine, Hall said. The drug also prevents neurons, or brain cells, from reabsorbing these brain chemicals, meaning the effects of the drug may linger in the system longer than people anticipate. Alpha-Pyrrolidinovalerophenone (also known as α-PVP, A-PVP, alpha-PVP, and flakka) is a novel stimulant substance of the cathinone and pyrrolidinophenone classes. Α-PVP is chemically related to prolintane and belongs to a group called the substituted cathinones, which includes compounds like MDPV, hexen, and a-PHP.

It is also known as «gravel» due to its white, crystal-like appearance. Flakka is a highly potent drug that can be snorted, injected, eaten, smoked, or vaporized in e-cigarettes. When heated up, it gives off a foul-smelling smoke characterized as smelling like dirty socks. The initial effects of taking Flakka are similar to those of bath salts and methamphetamines. This includes feelings of euphoria, heightened focus, increased sex drive, and being sociable. When Flakka is abused in high amounts it can cause users to have paranoid, violent, and bizarre behavior, again similar to bath salt abuse.