Flakka
Drug abuse is a serious problem in the United States. In spite of the nation’s nearly half-century war on drugs, illegal drugs are still sold and often relatively easy for users to obtain. In spite of strict laws forbidding the sale, use, or possession of illegal street drugs, users and addicts still want, crave, and demand them. In recent years, lawmakers and the public have been debating America’s drug laws and current policies about them. Some believe that radical changes are needed; others call for tougher sanctions. Several states have decriminalized or lessened the penalties for marijuana or some other drugs, but most states and the federal governments still impose penalties for their use, possession, or sale. Regardless of the debate, numerous federal, state, and local agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and various drug task forces actively seek out sellers and users of illegal drugs; they do not hesitate to enforce the nation’s drug laws.
Drugs generally fall in one of three categories: over-the-counter drugs, prescription drugs, and illegal street drugs. Many drugs, for instance Aspirin, are purchased over the counter without a prescription and are legal even if they may produce negative side-effects. Prescription drugs must be approved by the federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA) before they can be sold to the public. Approval comes, if at all, after testing and the pharmaceutical firm meeting FDA requirements. However, prescription drugs, particularly pain killers, are often abused, and drug enforcement authorities have taken aim against both physicians who too casually prescribe pain killers and users who are addicted to them. The third category, illegal street drugs, has presented the most pressing problems: their sale and use are widespread. While some argue that hard-core drugs such as heroin have some positive effects, the prevailing view is that those and similar types of drugs pose significant danger to users’ health and create havoc in society; their use is illegal.
Due to government action, the list of illegal drugs has grown substantially; thousands of compounds are listed as illegal or controlled substances. Yet, a black market for these drugs exists and thrives. In an effort to stay ahead of the law, makers and sellers of illegal street drugs often try to change their chemical formula or find a new substance to mimic the effects of the illegal drugs. In short, they try to find drugs that produce a ‘high,” intoxicating effects, or alter a person’s mental state. The latest new publicized illegally developed synthetic drug – flakka – is particularly dangerous.
Flakka, described as five dollars’ worth of insanity, also goes by its street name “gravel.” According to the DEA, it is usually manufactured abroad in China and Pakistan and derived from alpha-PVP, an illegal and abused controlled substance. Users often buy it for five dollars or less in small quantities and in crystal forms. When inhaled, snorted, injected, or swallowed, users claim it heightens their senses, but it may cause paranoia, hallucinations, and amnesia. In as little as three days, the user’s behavior changes severely. Flakka alters the user’s brain chemistry, and the user may lose control over his or her thoughts or actions. Flakka is on the rise and is dangerous. Flakka manufacturers may mix it with other illegal drugs like cocaine or heroin, and this mixing produces other negative effects.
Flakka is sold on the streets of Tennessee, Ohio, Texas, and elsewhere, but it is most prevalent in Florida. Anecdotal reports raise concerns about the use of flakka. In January 2015, Palm Beach County SWAT officers were summoned to talk down 33-year-old L. S., a flakka user. His behavior was bizarre. Perched on a roof, he fired his weapon, imagining he was protecting his family from a Haitian gang. Later, L.S. could not recall any details leading to this conduct. In February 2015, a 50-year-old homeless man, J.W., tried to kick open the heavy front door to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department because while on flakka, he felt in desperate need of police protection from 25 imaginary pursuers. In March 2015, a 37-year-old flakka user, S.N., was impaled on the police’s department’s ten-feet-tall security fence attempting to climb over and escape death by imagined pursuers.
Regardless of the debate about whether some drugs should be decriminalized or legalized for some purposes, the horrible effects of certain drugs cannot be seriously contested. Early reports about flakka strongly suggest that the public and users should view it as a very dangerous drug.
If you are caught possessing, using, buying, and/or selling illegal drugs, including flakka, know this: You can be charged, arrested, tried, convicted, fined, and imprisoned. But you have rights. To learn your rights, contact Attorney Perry A. Craft. He will fight for you.
Perry A. Craft has dedicated his life to helping people in need. He has tried, settled, or resolved numerous civil and criminal cases in State and Federal courts, and has represented teachers and administrators before school boards, administrative judges, and the state Board of Education. Learn more about Attorney Craft.