Flakka - A Dangerous High

There are many reasons to keep an eye on our kids, but one can have life or death implications: illegal drugs, and in particular a drug called Flakka. Today, kids may not know what they're taking because many are unique chemicals made by an illegal lab. This means unlucky teens can end up taking a lethal dose.

Flakka is a second generation bath salt, named after the kind you put in the tub because they're also small crystals. Flakka is a synthetic cathinone, a stimulant, and its potency is similar to methamphetamine but more addictive. A national survey of high school students done in two thousand eighteen reveals about one percent had tried it. That's not surprising because Flakka is called a poor person's cocaine at five dollars a gram. It's caused eighty deaths in Florida alone within a recent fifteen month period.

Flakka crystals are white or pink, smells like dirty socks, can be eaten, snorted, injected or vaped. It causes 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 attacks.

The high school survey, which was self-reported, had the highest use among teens not living with their parents or from lower socio-economic families. It's used more often by people who visit electronic dance parties who also take ecstacy, a drug often contaminated with Flakka.

Young people should know about the risks of taking these types of drugs today. Maybe then, they'll think twice.