There's a drug called flakka.... which some of us already know

While many reports are saying this designer drug is sweeping the state of Florida, the mind-altering substance has also been popping up in a few other states across the country, including Ohio and Texas.

There, it goes by the name "gravel" because it looks like the colorful gravel pebbles you'd use to decorate the bottom of an aquarium.

Use of the drug, which can be snorted, smoked, injected, and swallowed, has been linked with serious — and sometimes deadly — behavioral problems:

Earlier this week police arrested a man on flakka running naked across an intersection to escape the imaginary people he said were chasing him.In February, a man on flakka was caught on camera trying to kick in the glass doors of Florida's Fort Lauderdale police headquarters.And last March, a man on flakka reportedly impaled himself on a metal fence.

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 two drugs are closely related.

Like cathinone, alpha-PVP is a type of stimulant, colloquially called an “upper.” Uppers are linked with feelings of euphoria, enhanced alertness and wakefulness, and increased movement — all symptoms that are similar to those experienced by people on other drugs like amphetamines or cocaine.

Since flakka is so new, researchers aren't sure exactly how it affects the brain, or how addictive it is.

For now, they can only guess by looking at how its chemical cousins, like cocaine and amphetamines, work. These drugs cause a surge in two chemicals: the feel-good chemical dopamine (responsible for the euphoric sensations) and norepineprhine (which raises heart rate and blood pressure and can make us more alert).

Like cocaine and meth, flakka comes with a comedown, the period when the drug leaves the body and the person is left feeling fatigued or depressed. This sensation often results in users returning to the drug to get rid of the negative comedown feeling, jump-starting a cycle of use that can lead to abuse. Also like cocaine and meth, the drug may alter brain chemistry in a way that makes users require a larger and larger dose to get the same high.

Excessive use has been linked with feelings of extreme anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations. Like with bath salts, people have also reported dozens of episodes of violent behavior in people on flakka.

At high doses, flakka may also cause the body to reach high temperatures (bath salts have been linked with the same symptom). This excessive temperature can lead to severe physical complications like kidney damage and muscle breakdown.

Like cathinone, alpha-PVP is a type of stimulant, colloquially called an “upper.” Uppers are linked with feelings of euphoria, enhanced alertness and wakefulness, and increased movement — all symptoms that are similar to those experienced by people on other drugs like amphetamines or cocaine.

Since flakka is so new, researchers aren't sure exactly how it affects the brain, or how addictive it is.

For now, they can only guess by looking at how its chemical cousins, like cocaine and amphetamines, work. These drugs cause a surge in two chemicals: the feel-good chemical dopamine (responsible for the euphoric sensations) and norepineprhine (which raises heart rate and blood pressure and can make us more alert).

Like cocaine and meth, flakka comes with a comedown, the period when the drug leaves the body and the person is left feeling fatigued or depressed. This sensation often results in users returning to the drug to get rid of the negative comedown feeling, jump-starting a cycle of use that can lead to abuse. Also like cocaine and meth, the drug may alter brain chemistry in a way that makes users require a larger and larger dose to get the same high.

Excessive use has been linked with feelings of extreme anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations. Like with bath salts, people have also reported dozens of episodes of violent behavior in people on flakka.

At high doses, flakka may also cause the body to reach high temperatures (bath salts have been linked with the same symptom). This excessive temperature can lead to severe physical complications like kidney damage and muscle breakdown.

Alpha-PVP is chemically similar to other synthetic cathinone drugs popularly called "bath salts," and takes the form of a white or pink, foul-smelling crystal that can be eaten, snorted, injected, or vaporized in an e-cigarette or similar device. Vaporizing, which sends the drug very quickly into the bloodstream, may make it particularly easy to overdose. Like other drugs of this type, alpha-PVP can cause a condition called "excited delirium" that involves hyperstimulation, paranoia, and hallucinations that can lead to violent aggression and self-injury. 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.


Still, flakka use is on the rise.

According to Forbes contributor Robert Glatter, the US Drug Enforcement Administration has seen a nearly 780% increase in the number of reported cases in the last three years. Back in 2010, not a single case of the drug had been reported in the US. Suddenly in 2012 there were 85 cases, and in 2014 there were 670.

(CNN)In late 2014, the synthetic drug known as flakka exploded on the scene and prompted such bizarre, violent behavior that it quickly became shorthand for lunacy. The street drug, which is similar to cocaine but much cheaper and more potent, has been called "$5 insanity."
The hype was not overblown. Last spring, three or four people were hospitalized every day in South Florida, an area particularly hard-hit by the epidemic.

Authorities have speculated the drug "flakka" could be connected to the gruesome case of a Florida couple who were fatally stabbed Monday before the 19-year-old suspect allegedly tried to eat one of their faces.

Austin Harrouff, a Florida State University fraternity brother, was found allegedly attempting to bite off chunks of John Joseph Stevens III's face in a Tequesta neighborhood, law enforcement officials confirmed to PEOPLE. Stevens, 59, and his 53-year-old wife Michelle Karen Mishcon had been allegedly stabbed multiple times by Harrouff, authorities said.

Harrouff was "abnormally strong" during the alleged attack, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said during a news conference.

Harrouff was also making "animal-like" noises, including "grunting" and "growling," Snyder said. He has since been hospitalized after a prolonged arrest in which he allegedly resisted multiple officers.

While toxicology reports will determine whether Harrouff was on drugs during the alleged attack, Snyder said he "would not be surprised" if Harrouff was under the influence of flakka.

Snyder noted that Harrouff's core body temperature was not elevated, as it would have been if flakka was involved. But he told PEOPLE that Harrouff exhibited several symptoms seen in flakka users, and initial reports found he was not on cocaine, marijuana or methamphetamine.

Not surprisingly, one of the main reasons for this increase may be the price: flakka can cost as little as $5 a pop according to Dispatch Times, and is easy to buy in bulk.

SEE VIDEOS BELOW:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMJMujPoa4Y

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