Add "flakka' to the list of highly addictive, potentially lethal synthetic drugs.
Never heard of it?
Chances are you will be hearing more about it. Flakka is listed among emerging trends by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Also known as alpha-PVP, the institute reports it "can cause a condition called excited delirium that involves hyper-stimulation, paranoia and hallucinations that can lead to violent aggression and self-injury." It adds, "The drug has been linked to deaths by suicide as well as heart attack. It can also dangerously raise body temperature and lead to kidney damage or kidney failure."
Lewis County, Ky., Sheriff Johnny Bivens called it "the worst drug I have ever seen in my 18 years of law enforcement across the board."
He said users "constantly think that someone is after them. One of the main things we have seen was people experiencing rapid weight loss, about 40 pounds a month. People don't eat. They are up for 10 to 12 days at a time. Their body becomes covered in abscesses."
Why would anyone ingest such a substance? The same question can be asked concerning heroin, meth or "bath salts" - a synthetic drug with a chemical makeup similar to flakka, according to the institute.
According to Kansas City Star story, flakka is on the upswing in Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio. Although Kansas City police have responded to behaviors, hospitalizations and deaths associated with synthetic drugs, none have been traced directly to flakka.
Yet.
Suffice it to say the drug is easily accessible and law enforcement authorities are on the alert.
Sgt. Chris Cesena of the Kansas City police drug enforcement unit said: "The dangerous thing about synthetic drugs is that the chemicals used to make them are always changing. The user doesn't realize what they're taking. These are harsh chemicals."
Rusty Payne, a spokesman for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, said a "tremendous" number of cases was reported last year, "causing a lot of problems in a lot of places."
We encourage everyone - law enforcement officers, parents, youth organizations, educators - to be on the alert for this newest scourge.
We don't need flakka causing problems in Central Missouri.