It’s a cathinone, chemically related to drugs called bath salts, that goes by the pharmaceutical name of Alpha PVP. It can be ground into a powder and is sometimes used to cut other drugs because it’s so inexpensive. MDMA, known widely as Molly, has been the cause of a number of fatalities and the recent round of overdoses that hospitalized a dozen people at Wesleyan University. But nightmares and the diuretic action of weak and strong alcoholic beverages in elderly men medication might be the least of a user’s worries. The flakka drug is highly addictive, and with repeated use comes the risk of devastating longer-term consequences including depression, insomnia, paranoia, kidney failure, heart failure, and death. The belief that Flakka or other “bath salt” use can turn you into a zombie or cannibal appears to have been a somewhat effective deterrent against use.
Flakka: New Dangerous Synthetic Cathinone on the Drug Scene
The neurological effects of Flakka toxicity may be treated with drugs such as benzodiazepines to counteract agitation and aberrant behavior. The cardiac effects of these drugs can be addressed with the intravenous administration of low-dose norepinephrine (to normalize heart rate and blood pressure) over several hours (typically not more than 6). People addicted to flakka should seek professional treatment. Rehab offers evidence-based therapies that can help clients learn the underlying causes of their substance abuse problems. Therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy can teach patientshow to overcome triggers and cravings.
Is Flakka Addictive?
Flakka is chemically similar to the street drug known as bath salts or MDPV. As with all substance abuse, those experiencing addiction to flakka should screen for co-occurring mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety. As flakka is a new drug, there is still a lot to learn about the treatment of the substance. Little information is known about flakka outside what is reported from users.
Pharmacological Treatment
Compounds in Spice act on the same parts in the brain as THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. As a result, the effects are very similar, such as feeling happier and more relaxed. Little is known about the health effects of salvia, though animal studies show it may have an impact on learning and memory. The Drug Enforcement Administration doesn’t consider salvia an illegal drug, but several states have passed laws to regulate its use.
“Normally when dopamine would be released, even naturally or even with other drugs, it then gets reuptaked — it goes back to its original transmitting neuron,” said Hall. “But in this case, its reuptake is blocked so it remains there.” “At the height of the flakka craze, you were almost praying for crack cocaine to come back,” Don Maines, a drug treatment counselor with mixing alcohol and hallucinogens the Broward County sheriff’s office told The Washington Post. Authorities took samples of Harrouff’s hair, DNA, and blood, and sent them to the F.B.I. for drug testing. But media outlet after media outlet immediately suspected that the culprit was a drug called flakka. However, toxicology tests later confirmed that “bath salts” were not present in the attacker’s system.
- The synthetic stimulant compound contained in Flakka is known as alpha-pyrrolidinovalerophenone (alpha-PVP).
- It alters your mood and makes you feel closer and more connected to others.
- It’s been linked to deaths due to heart attack, suicide, and kidney damage or kidney failure.
- There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.
That may be because they were easy to get and used to be hard to detect in drug tests. Hall said some drug treatment sessions can only be 20 minutes long because that’s all a flakka survivor can stay focused. “It’s one of the most addictive drugs we’ve ever seen…and because it’s so inexpensive, for something like $5, addicts can get high for a couple of days. In the 14 months since the epidemic began in Broward County, 60 people have died. And some nights, half the calls to police are flakka-related emergencies.
New psychoactive substances are being used as drugs and appear to be quite popular nowadays. Thanks to their specific properties, these how to stop binge drinking drugs create inimitable experiences for intoxicated people. Synthetic cathinones are the most common compounds in these new drugs.
Schedule 9 substances refer to substances that may be abused. Unless required for medical or scientific research or analysis, or for teaching or training purposes, the law should prohibit their manufacture, possession, sale, or use. In a study with rodents, the acute administration of α-PVP at doses of 1–10 mg/kg by vapor or injection evoked a robust dose-dependent hyperlocomotion, likely involving enhanced signaling at dopamine D1 and D2 receptors [51].
But it can also cause agitated delirium and sometimes results in psychiatric hospitalization. When vaporized, alpha-PVP quickly enters the bloodstream, and its effects are felt more rapidly. However, this method of administration makes overdose more likely. Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute found that the potency and addictiveness of alpha-PVP is similar to that of bath salts.
Targeted substance abuse recovery for those experiencing problems with Flakka use may include inpatient rehab or outpatient treatment. If someone exhibits bizarre or harmful behaviors resulting from flakka use, call 911 immediately. Do not engage the individual because he or she may become violent.
Police in south Florida have seen a growing number of cases of bizarre and uncontrollable behavior linked to a street drug called flakka, one of the newer chemicals in the booming category of synthetic or designer drugs. For example, several synthetic cathinones, including α-PVP, have been added to a list of banned substances at sporting events [55]. The metabolism of α-PVP and MDPV has been examined, but only the Phase I metabolism will be described here.
Luckily, Broward County hospital admissions for flakka went from 306 in October to 54 in December, and stayed down, with no flakka-related deaths occurring over the first third of 2016. Along with a few cases reported in Ohio, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, and several others, in the U.S. flakka saw a whopping 780 percent increase in cases between 2012 and 2014. 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. China, Pakistan and India are the main suppliers of flakka, Forbes reported.
It triggers your brain to release dopamine and creates a euphoric feeling. The high is intense but short-lived, which leads people to use it repeatedly to try to keep the feeling going. These designer drugs came on the scene fairly recently and became popular fast.