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Flakka: What is the 'zombie drug' blamed for face-eating attacks?

Drug similar to the 'bath salts' can cause 'excited delirium' but probably does not cause cannibalism

Charlotte England,Feliks Garcia

Wednesday 17 August 2016 20:03 BST

A flakka dealer named Ben high on the drug was stopped next to a public service ad in Pompano Beach, Florida (TNS via Getty Images)

When police in Florida pulled a 19-year-old student away from the bodies of his two alleged victims – one of whom he had reportedly bitten in the face – they knew what to blame.

They had seen it before, in the shape of attacks carried out by drug users under the influence of flakka or bath salts, a powerful man-made drug.

“When you see a case like this where someone is biting off pieces of somebody's face, could it be flakka? The answer is it absolutely could be a flakka case,” Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said, adding that the suspect from the Monday night double-murder case was "abnormally strong".

Mr Snyder added that the suspect, Austin Harrouff, had no previous criminal record and no clear motive in the alleged attacks of Michelle Mishon, 53, and John Stevens, 59.

Investigators are still working to determine whether or not the suspect had flakka in his system, the sheriff's suspicion highlights a larger problem with man-made hallucinogens sweeping South Florida.

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Show all 10

1/10World's 10 deadliest street drugs

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Whoonga

Whoonga is a combination of antiretroviral drugs, used to treat HIV, and various cutting agents such as detergents and poisons. The drug is widely available in South Africa due to South Africa’s high rate of HIV sufferers, and is believed to be popular due to how cheap it is when compared to prescribed antiretrovirals. The drug is highly addictive and can cause major health issues such as internal bleeding, stomach ulcers and ultimately death

Getty

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Scopolamine

Scopolamine is a derivative from the nightshade plant found in the Northern Indian region of South America (Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela). It is generally found in a refined powder form, but can also be found as a tea. The drug is more often used by criminals due its high toxicity level (one gram is believed to be able to kill up to 20 people) making it a strong poison. However, it is also believed that the drug is blown into the faces of unexpecting victims, later causing them to lose all sense of self-control and becoming incapable of forming memories during the time they are under the influence of the drug. This tactic has reportedly been used by gangs in Colombia where there have been reports of people using scopolamine as way to convince victims to rob their own homes

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Heroin

Founded in 1874 by C. R. Alder Wright, heroin is one of the world’s oldest drugs. Originally it was prescribed as a strong painkiller used to treat chronic pain and physical trauma. However in 1971 it was made illegal under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Since then it has become one of the most destructive substances in the world, tearing apart communities and destroying families. The side effects of heroin include inflammation of the gums, cold sweats, a weak immune system, muscular weakness and insomnia. It can also damage blood vessels which can later cause gangrene if left untreated

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Crack cocaine

Crack cocaine first came about in the 1980’s when cocaine became a widespread commodity within the drug trafficking world. Originally cocaine would have attracted a high price tag due to its rarity and difficulty to produce, but once it became more widespread the price dropped significantly. This resulted in drug dealers forming their cocaine into rock like shapes by using baking soda as a way of distilling the powder down into rock form. People were doing this because it allowed for them to sell cocaine at a lower quantity and to a higher number of people. The side effects of crack cocaine include liver, kidney and lung damage, as well as permanent damage to blood vessels, which can often lead to heart attacks, strokes, and ultimately death

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Crystal meth

Not just famous because of a certain Walter H White, but also because it is one of the most destructive drugs in the world. First developed in 1887, it became widely used during the Second World War when both sides would give it to their troops to keep them awake. It is also believed that the Japanese gave it to their Kamikaze pilots before their suicide missions. After the war crystal meth was prescribed as a diet aid and remained legal until the 1970s. Since then it has fallen into the hands of Mexican gangs and has become a worldwide phenomenon, spreading throughout Europe and Asia. The effects of crystal meth are devastating. In the short-term users will become sleep depraved and anxious, and in the long-term it will cause their flesh to sink, as well as brain damage and damage of the blood vessels

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

AH-7921

AH-7921 is a synthetic opioid that was previously available to legally purchase online from vendors until it became a Class A in January 2015. The drug is believed to have 80% of the potency of morphine, and became known as the ‘legal heroin’. While there has only been one death related to AH-7921 in the UK, it is believed to be highly dangerous and capable of causing respiratory arrest and gangrene

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Flakka

Flakka is a stimulant with a similar chemical make-up to the amphetamine-like drug found in bath salts. While the drug was originally marketed as a legal high alternative to ecstasy, the effects are significantly different. The user will feel an elevated heart rate, enhanced emotions, and, if enough is digested, strong hallucinations. The drug can cause permanent psychological damage due to it affecting the mood regulating neurons that keep the mind’s serotonin and dopamine in check, as well as possibly causing heart failure

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Bath salts

Bath salts are a synthetic crystalline drug that is prevalent in the US. While they may sound harmless, they certainly aren’t the sort of salts you drop into a warm bath when having a relaxing night in, they are most similar to mephedrone, and have recently been featured throughout social media due to the ‘zombification’ of its. The name comes from the fact that the drug was originally sold online, and widely disguised as bath salts. The side effects include unusual psychiatric behaviour, psychosis, panic attacks and violent behaviour, as well as the possibility of a heart attack and an elevated body temperature

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Purple Drank

One of the more unusual drugs around at the moment, purple drank was popularised in 90s hip hop culture, with the likes of Jay Z and Big Moe all mentioning it in their songs. It is a concoction of soda water, sweets and cold medicine, and is drunk due to cold medicines high codeine content, which gives the user a woozy feeling. However it can also cause respiratory issues and heart failure

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Krokodil

Krokodil is Russia’s secret addiction. It is believed that over one million Russians are addicted to the drug. Users of krokodil are attracted to the drug due to its low price; it is sold at £20 a gram while heroin is sold for £60. However, krokodil is considered more dangerous than heroin because it is often homemade, with ingredients including painkillers, iodine, lighter fluid and industrial cleaning agents. This chemical make-up makes the drug highly dangerous and likely to cause gangrene, and eventually rotting of the flesh

What is 'flakka'?

According to the Texas Poison Centre Network, flakka – or alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone (alpha-PDP) – is a drug mostly manufactured in China for roughly $5 per dose. The drug is sold in white or pink crystal chunks, which are “foul-smelling”, according to the US National Institute on Drug Abuse. It is sometimes called "gravel" because it resembles the small stones in the bottom of fish tanks.

Flakka is a psychostimulant drug in the synthetic cathinone family, known colloquially as "bath salts", and it was probably developed as a legal high in response to other drugs being criminalised. It is in the same group as the drug mephedrone and was only recently banned in the UK and in the US. It is a stimulant, which increases alertness, attention and energy, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Stimulants – which also include cocaine and ecstasy – are often referred to as “uppers”.

Does flakka turn people into cannibals?

Bath salts were first linked to a man cannibalising another man in Florida in 2014. This turned out to be false speculation: a post-mortem examination revealed the man didn't have the drug in his system at the time, but it had already triggered mass hysteria.

Onvestigators believe the man may have taken a drug called flakka (Drug Enforcement Agency)

The latest attack and speculation, however, seem to reinforce the idea that cannibalism is symptomatic of taking drugs like bath salts or flakka. But the incident itself is isolated, and it remains unclear whether or not Harrouff was actually on flakka.

The TPCN explains that the active chemical can cause "excited delirium", which results in hyperstimulation, paranoia, and hallucinations that can lead to "violent aggression". Given the availability and widespread distribution of the drug, however, if it turned users into cannibals, there would be more reports of such instances publicly available.

Why are we hearing so much about flakka now?

Like synthetic marijuana in New York City, flakka emerged in public consciousness in 2015 after a viral video on YouTube, titled "Flocka [sic] is Destroying USA", depicted a young woman dancing in the rain. Since then, other videos showing people with erratic behaviour were soon attributed to the drug. However, none of these videos actually show people taking the drug.

The drug's similarity to bath salts reinforced the media speculation that they would give somebody "superhuman strength" – an unconfirmed side effect critics say was used to justify forceful arrests.

Is flakka deadly?

But although its dangers may have been exaggerated, taking the drug is risky - it is addictive and can cause fatal overdoses.

“Many users didn't like the bad effects they had from the drug,” Jim Hall, an epidemiologist in the Centre for Applied Research on Substance Use and Health Disparities at Nova Southeastern University told People. “but nonetheless were very compelled by compulsion to keep using the drug, as it's addictive.”

In Broward County, Florida, some 60 people died by the end of 2015 – only 14 months after the drug began taking its hold on the area.

A 37-year-old woman, identified only as Stephanie, described her addiction to NBC News.

“I remember having seizures and having just continued paranoia and feeling like people were chasing me and following me and talking about me,” she said. “And I still suffer from nightmares and have to take medication for that.”