Flakka Drug: What It Is, Effects, and Nicknames

When someone goes through a flakka detox, they will usually experience withdrawal symptoms such as those listed above. 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.

Some of the other side effects include; hypertension, aneurysm, renal failure, and narrowed blood vessels. Regardless of the method of intake, it can overdose as any other drug. “Baths salts” is a term used to refer to synthetic cathinones as a whole, some of which may cause far more intense hyperstimulation than others.

Street Names for Flakka

The following video brings attention to the serious dangers of Flakka use, even for first-time users. Cathinones are chemicals derived from the khat plant originating in the Middle East and Somalia—where the leaves are frequently chewed for a euphoric buzz. “Flakka largely emerged as a replacement to MDVP in ‘bath salts’,” said Lucas Watterson, a postdoctoral researcher at Temple University School of Medicine Center for Substance Abuse Research.

• Overdose is a possibility with the use of this substance, and due to its manufacturing process and administration, the exact dosage used is hard to measure.
• Flakka is a dangerous drug that has many bad side effects, mostly including changes in behavior or mood.
• Addiction Resource is an educational platform for sharing and disseminating information about addiction and substance abuse recovery centers.
• The drug abuser will need to be treated in a center that specializes in drug addiction.
• Addiction Resource does not offer medical diagnosis, treatment, or advice.

Seizures: Symptoms and Types

Scientifically, it clings onto neurons and floods the brain with dopamine and sorting, like meth does, CNN reported. But flakka lingers in the brain longer than cocaine does, and a slight difference in dosing can make a huge difference in the high. Evidence suggests the illegal drug has only recently come on the scene. According to Hall’s research, alpha-PVP is often purchased online in bulk from locations such as China, typically at $1,500 per kilogram.

Side Effects of Flakka

It most commonly takes the form of white or pink, foul-smelling crystals that can be eaten, snorted, injected, smoked, or vaporized. One single dose—costing under five dollars—can give a user an intense, fleeting high. One single dose can also lead a user into severe paranoia, aggression, and hyper-stimulation. The high from Flakka can last up to several hours, much longer than that of cocaine. As it sits in the brain, the drug simultaneously destroys neurons.

Treating Flakka Abuse

In the year 2015, the number of emergency department visits due to synthetic cathinone rose over 20,000. A research conducted on rats found out that they became addicted to the drug and would thereby press a lever as often as possible to get more of the drug. As an individual who is addicted to flakka use, seeking professional help for detox or withdrawal is advisable to avoid unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.

What Is about Insurances?

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. In the United States, flakka is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I drugs are defined as substances with a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.

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. The United States Code (USC) Controlled Substance Act is the system followed and implemented by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Muscle tissue begins to break down, releasing proteins and other cellular products into the bloodstream, in a process called rhabdomyolysis. The result of the cellular products and proteins released during rhabdomyolysis and dehydration can impair the filtering function of the kidneys, leading to renal failure and death. In addition, such agitation may trigger Taser use or other methods that have the potential to harm the individual when law enforcement personnel have to intervene. The year 2015 saw hundreds of deaths related to the drug Flakka—most often resulting from overdose, heart attack, and suicide. Emergency visits linking back to Flakka abuse increased tenfold in the last year.

• But flakka lingers in the brain longer than cocaine does, and a slight difference in dosing can make a huge difference in the high.
• Users are not always poor, however, and sellers are not always ill-intentioned, or even aware, of the dangers of Flakka abuse.
• American Addiction Centers (AAC) is a leading treatment provider and has trusted rehab programs across the country.
• According to Hall’s research, alpha-PVP is often purchased online in bulk from locations such as China, typically at $1,500 per kilogram.
• Synthetic cathinones are also labeled as ‘not for human consumption.’ These labels help hide the real reason for the product’s existence, so the drugs distribute easily.
• In other words, users might suffer from a loss of reality and scary-high body temperatures and pressure, Forbes reported.

Flakka (Zombie Drug) vs. Bath Salts

Experts worry that some survivors of flakka overdoses may be on dialysis for the rest of their life. Law what is flakka drug wikipedia 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. Α-PVP, or alpha-Pyrrolidinovalerophenone, is a synthetic substance belonging to a group called the substituted cathinones. Substituted cathinones are derivatives of the naturally occurring substance cathinone, which is one of the psychoactive principles in khat (Catha edullis).