More drug behavior to deal with... just great

[notmeofficer]

Should we also legalize this along with other drugs...????


By Curt Anderson
Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.— One man ran naked through a Florida neighborhood, tried to have sex with a tree and told police he was the mythical god Thor. Another ran nude down a busy city street in broad daylight, convinced a pack of German shepherds was pursuing him.

Two others tried separately to break into the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. They said they thought people were chasing them; one wound up impaled on a fence.
This Feb. 12, 2015 photo made available by the Broward Sheriff's Office, Fla., shows confiscated vials of flakka. (AP Image)
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The common element to these and other bizarre incidents in Florida in the last few months is flakka, an increasingly popular synthetic designer drug. Also known as gravel and readily available for $5 or less a vial, it's a growing problem for police after bursting on the scene in 2013.

It is the latest in a series of synthetic drugs that include Ecstasy and bath salts, but officials say flakka is even easier to obtain in small quantities through the mail. Flakka's active ingredient is a chemical compound called alpha-PVP, which is on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's list of the controlled substances most likely to be abused. It is usually made overseas in countries such as China and Pakistan.

Flakka, a derivative of the Spanish word for a thin, pretty woman, is usually sold in a crystal form and is often smoked using electronic cigarettes, which are popular with young people and give off no odor. It can also be snorted, injected or swallowed.

"I've had one addict describe it as $5 insanity," said Don Maines, a drug treatment counselor with the Broward Sheriff's Office in Fort Lauderdale. "They still want to try it because it's so cheap. It gives them heightened awareness. They feel stronger and more sensitive to touch. But then the paranoia sets in."

Judging from the evidence being seized by police around Florida, flakka use is up sharply. Submissions for testing to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's crime labs have grown from 38 in 2013 to 228 in 2014. At the Broward Sheriff's Office laboratory, flakka submissions grew from fewer than 200 in 2014 to 275 already, in just the first three months of this year, according to spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion.

"It's definitely something we are watching. It's an emerging drug," said Chad Brown, an FDLE supervisory special agent.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Florida appears to be the nation's hot spot for reports of flakka, also known as gravel. News reports have also cited flakka or gravel appearing in Ohio, Texas and Tennessee.

In one recent case, 22-year-old Jaime Nicole Lewis was charged in a DEA complaint with conspiracy to distribute flakka after DEA agents based in London intercepted U.S.-bound packages of the drug that were made in Hong Kong. An undercover DEA agent posing as a delivery company employee then brought the packages to Lewis' home in Palm Beach County, according to a court affidavit.

"Synthetic drugs are illegal and present a grave danger to our community, particularly our children," said Miami U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer.

Lewis is being held without bail and is due to enter a plea next week. Her attorney, Paul Lazarus, said prosecutors will have to prove she knew the packages contained illegal drugs. A man believed to be the flakka ringleader in this case also is charged, but has not been arrested.

James West, a 50-year-old homeless man, was caught on surveillance video in February trying to kick in the heavy glass front door of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, finally cracking it with large rocks. Bleeding above one eye, West told officers that he was desperate for help from police because "he was being chased by 20-25 individuals and he didn't know why." He later told police he had smoked flakka.

In March, Shanard Neely got impaled through the buttocks on the department's 10-foot-high security fence while trying to climb over, convinced he was being pursued and that "he needed to go to jail or they would kill him," police said. Neely, 37, also told officers he had smoked flakka. It took hours for rescuers to cut him down.

And in Palm Beach County, a SWAT team had to talk Leroy Strothers, 33, off a rooftop in January. He had fired a shot from up there, claiming he was being followed by a Haitian gang that had threatened his family. Strothers, who was charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, told officers he had smoked flakka and could not remember how he got on the roof.

"I'm feeling delusional and hallucinating," Strothers said, according to a sheriff's report.

The FDLE's Brown said his agency is training police to better recognize flakka and the symptoms it can cause.

One challenge is that flakka manufacturers make subtle changes to its chemical makeup, foiling efforts to test for the drug, and it is frequently mixed with other substances, such as crack cocaine or heroin, with unknown effects, said Maines, of the Broward Sheriff's Office.

With prolonged use over as little as three days, behavioral changes can be severe.

"It actually starts to rewire the brain chemistry. They have no control over their thoughts. They can't control their actions," Maines said. "It seems to be universal that they think someone is chasing them. It's just a dangerous, dangerous drug."

[uggabugga]

I posted the same article on P&OC wondering how the 'legalize it all' crowd would respond.

[wpme]

Legalize MJ and most of the idiots doing the chemical junk would use MJ instead. When they cannot find safe dope at a reasonable price, and chemical dope is available for $5 at the corner store, guess what happens

[notmeofficer]

Originally Posted by uggabugga

I posted the same article on P&OC wondering how the 'legalize it all' crowd would respond.

Sorry Ugga... I did not see yours.. Ill try and be more careful

Thank you for allowing me this editorial relief here

Now.. as to drugs... MJ for example.. and how people would switch to it... no,, not sure that would happen.. humans are destructive by nature and there is an element of our society that will always want to push the bounds of better highs

We regular have honey oil explosions in my county.. one last night.. so obviously even those who love their BUD want something more potent.. better high.. higher high (as an aside it burned down their trailer and a car and trailer of a neighbor in a campground.. and burned both the male and female cookers as well giving them some full thickness burns,, which I just bet we as taxpayers will foot the bill for)

When the brain damage controls shut down through narcotic use and are anesthetized and you screw with dopamine MJ users report looking for the "better high"... it is a classical sign of addiction that does occur for heavy users

[MTQ3000]

Did I miss the "legalize flakka" movement? Didn't see anything on MSNBC or the Huffington Post.

We should ban alcohol, too. Rape, DUI, projectile vomiting, public urination . . . . ya know, the ill effects of this stuff are pervasive. We should do that with a Constitutional amendment. Oh, wait.

Mick

[ocnjgirl]

I saw where kids are now dying using synthetic marijuana, and all I can think is, if they had been using the real thing no deaths would have resulted....seems man cannot duplicate nature.

[jburress]

Prohibitionists like the OP are the reason these drugs are available.

[uggabugga]

Originally Posted by notmeofficer

Sorry Ugga... I did not see yours.. Ill try and be more careful

Thank you for allowing me this editorial relief here

Now.. as to drugs... MJ for example.. and how people would switch to it... no,, not sure that would happen.. humans are destructive by nature and there is an element of our society that will always want to push the bounds of better highs

We regular have honey oil explosions in my county.. one last night.. so obviously even those who love their BUD want something more potent.. better high.. higher high (as an aside it burned down their trailer and a car and trailer of a neighbor in a campground.. and burned both the male and female cookers as well giving them some full thickness burns,, which I just bet we as taxpayers will foot the bill for)

When the brain damage controls shut down through narcotic use and are anesthetized and you screw with dopamine MJ users report looking for the "better high"... it is a classical sign of addiction that does occur for heavy users

that's ok.

like I said on the other thread, I think there is a fairly large contingent of people who, if MJ was readily available, would be content with that. however, as you said, there's a sizeable population who are looking for something dangerous and 'exciting' no matter how damaging it is- these people go for PCP, flakka, bath salts, krokodil, meth, and the like.

the argument was made that we should just sit back and let natural selection take care of the problem, eventually they'll take themselves out. to me that's a laughable non-solution, because we would have to deal with them in the meantime, running amok, humping trees, stealing stuff, driving while thinking they're god, jumping out windows, etc. ad nauseum.

[mikelizard860]

Originally Posted by ocnjgirl

seems man cannot duplicate nature.

Heroin comes from poppy seeds(ie nature) Just because something is from nature doesn't mean it's good for you. That being said, weed is obviously less harmful than this other garbage.

Where do I get me some Flakka? This stuff sounds like fun(sarcasm), who wouldn't' want to have sex with a tree? LOL

No matter how many drugs you make illegal OR LEGAL, morons will still manage to get high on something. Sniffing paint is worse than smoking crack. It totally rots your brain. Severe alcoholics have been know to drink Listerine which causes blindness. You can't totally stop "stupid" unfortunately.

[uggabugga]

Originally Posted by jburress

Prohibitionists like the OP are the reason these drugs are available.

I'm not following you. how would an absence of prohibition decrease the availability of these drugs?

that's counter-intuitive.