Author: James Anderson

Flakka Drug: What It Is, Effects, and Nicknames

how does flakka affect your brain

This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Boca Recovery Center is here to provide the best quality care in the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction. Synthetic cathinones are also labeled as ‘not for human consumption.’ These labels help hide the real reason for the product’s existence, so the drugs distribute easily.

  1. Flakka resembles white or pink gravel, salt or grains of sand.
  2. At high doses, flakka may also cause the body to reach high temperatures (bath salts have been linked with the same symptom).
  3. When someone goes through a flakka detox, they will usually experience withdrawal symptoms such as those listed above.
  4. As flakka is a new drug, there is still a lot to learn about the treatment of the substance.

Among those needing medical attention, common reactions include cardiac symptoms and psychiatric symptoms. Behavioral therapy can treat addiction to synthetic cathinones like flakka. Examples of behavioral therapy include cognitive-behavioral therapy, contingency management and motivational incentives. Flakka is the nickname of alpha-PVP, a synthetic cathinone derived from the African khat plant. The designer drug is chemically similar to 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), an active ingredient in bath salts.

Treatment Options for Flakka Addiction

Like other illicit stimulants, alpha-PVP can be life-threatening. Long-term flakka use may result in psychosis or other serious mental health disorders that severely impair an individual’s daily functions and require ongoing medical treatment. Such conditions can severely impair a person’s life and require ongoing medical care and treatment.

Flakka is an addictive drug that people use to obtain a cheap, quick, and euphoric high. The cathinones found in flakka stimulate the release of dopamine. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter involved in the pleasure and reward center of the brain, which gives off that euphoric feeling. Flakka originally became popular as a new synthetic drug in South Florida with people looking for a cheap high. Flakka is the latest in a selection of synthetic drugs used in the United States.

Psychiatric Disorders

Though vaporizing flakka, which is popular among teens since it gives off no odor, may appear to be the least harmful way to take the drug, the reverse is true. Flakka users may experience issues with memory, learning, and decision-making abilities despite discontinuing use of the drug. Some of this damage can be reversed with abstinence from the drug. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for executive functions, such as planning, decision-making, and impulse control. Flakka can disrupt these functions, leading to impaired judgment, increased impulsivity, and aggressive behavior.

how does flakka affect your brain

People addicted to the stimulant should seek treatment immediately. If these behaviors remind you of the ones that made headlines a few years ago with the appearance of drugs called “bath salts” — it isn’t a coincidence. The DEA classifies flakka as a Schedule I substance, making it illegal in the United States. Schedule I drugs have no acceptable medical purposes and a high potential for abuse. Flakka causes intense delusions, which are key to its allure yet also cause for concern.

When someone is addicted to flakka, they can experience withdrawal symptoms without it. Like other stimulants of this type, flakka can cause excited delirium, otherwise known as agitated delirium. This condition occurs when there’s an excessive influx of sympathetic activation. BetterHelp can connect you to an addiction and mental health counselor.

What Does Flakka Look Like?

After symptoms of flakka have subsided, the patient is discharged. “The cost is what really alarmed us … a lot more people can get their hands on it, and that’s always a problem,” Fort Lauderdale police Sergeant Nick Coffin told Dispatch Times. Bath salts come in powder form, which is typically packaged in gelatin capsules. They can also be taken orally, smoked, or placed into a solution and injected into the veins.

Your Brain On Flakka: Synthetic Drug Causes ‘Superhuman Strength’ And Hallucinations, Vaping Makes Effects Worse

Little information is known about flakka outside what is reported from users. Although people use flakka to achieve a euphoric high, the drug’s symptoms and side effects can escalate quickly. Synthetic drugs are illicitly created to produce substances that differ slightly from legal drugs. Recently, the abuse of synthetic drugs has re-emerged as a significant worldwide issue. If someone exhibits bizarre or harmful behaviors resulting from flakka use, call 911 immediately. Do not engage the individual because he or she may become violent.

This overstimulation usually triggers the experience of a high that can be pleasurable and involve high energy levels. As little is known about flakka, detoxing in the care of medical professionals is essential. When someone goes through a flakka detox, they will usually experience withdrawal symptoms such as those listed above. As cathinones are hydrophobic molecules, they can cross cell membranes and the blood-brain barrier. This allows them to interact with the monoamine transporters in the synaptic cleft between neurons.