Are any other states or nations having trouble with the new drug Flakka ?

[steve2470]

Post in Florida group: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10453327

In Florida we are.

Meet Flakka, The Dangerous New Drug Sweeping Florida

http://time.com/3768667/flakka-drug-florida/

It can be even stronger than crystal meth or bath salts

Its effects can be as potent as crystal meth, bath salts or cocaine. It causes people to act erratically, uncontrollably and dangerously. It’s called flakka, and it’s the new designer drug hitting the streets of Florida.

In recent weeks in Florida, this new drug has led to a man trying to break down the door to a police station, a man impaling himself while trying to scale a fence, and an armed and naked man shouting about hallucinations from a rooftop, CBS reports.

The health effects of taking flakka, which can be injected, snorted, smoked or swallowed, can be dire.

[MADem]

1. This is the first I've heard of it. Initially I thought you were talking about some Big Pharma

product!!!

I mean, Flakka is a weird name, but so's Cialis or Levitra or Allegra.

I thought initially it was a weight loss drug--the name being a riff on "flaca" in Spanish.

[steve2470]

2. along with what you said...

The drug's name appears to have several meanings, says Hall. The word flaca means skinny in Spanish. "When we first heard the word we thought it was referring to the fact that it's a strong stimulant, almost all stimulants have an appetite depressant quality to them, an almost anorexic quality."

But Hall said flakka is also a Hispanic colloquial word that means a "beautiful, elegant woman who charms all she meets." The drug name also may be associated with a famous hip-hop artist Waka Flocka Flame.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/flakka-floridas-dangerous-new-drug-trend/

[MADem]

3. Yes--the TV show "El Gordo y La Flaca" is a riff on both terms.

It likely has roots in the whole "One can neither be too rich or too thin" philosophy shared by some style mavens....

[Warpy]

4. Interesting that the drug isn't an amphetamine, but an analog of the stimulant in khat

Chewing khat leaves gives people a lift, a slight buzz, and just a little more euphoria than caffeine does. It's how people in parts of the Middle East and Somalia take care of the afternoon slump.

As leaves, it's benign. So are coca leaves.

Unfortunately, heavy dopers are always looking for stronger and stronger highs and are overdosing the drug and that is catastrophic for a lot of them. It's not meth, it's not going to slam your system the same way.

It would make far more sense to legalize everything that grows naturally.

It would make even more sense to abandon the drug war completely. With the good stuff legal, clean and in reliable doses, the black market would collapse and with it, the funding for the worst gangs and cartels (and governments) on the planet.