Dr. Larry Warns About the Dangers of Flakka

[cs_content][cs_section bg_color=”hsl(0, 0%, 100%)” parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”2/3″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_custom_headline level=”h1″ looks_like=”h1″ accent=”false”]Dr. Larry Warns About the Dangers of Flakka[/x_custom_headline][cs_text]Reviewed & Approved by Dr. Larry

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n Florida, a 19-year-old Florida State University student, Austin Harrouff, allegedly stabbed a couple to death and tried to eat off one of their faces, prompting discussion of whether or not he was on drugs during the incident. It was rumored that he may have been high on a new designer drug, like flakka, which causes aggression, paranoia, and hallucinogenic effects. A toxicology report later showed that Harrouff had no drugs in his system at the time of the attack.

But this was one of the latest violent incidents that the public speculated was a result of the drug, flakka. Just how common is flakka, what is it, and what does it do?[/cs_text][x_video_player type=”16:9″ src=”https://youtu.be/gsbbSbqXrnM” hide_controls=”false” autoplay=”false” no_container=”false” preload=”none” advanced_controls=”false” muted=”false” loop=”false” poster=””][cs_text]“Flakka is like next generation ‘bath salts,’” Dr. Larry explains. The homemade drug potentiates dopamine, which makes the user experience a euphoric high, but also often results in hallucinations, delusions and paranoia that leads to violent behavior.

“It’s hard to predict how an individual is going to react,” Dr. Larry says of these types of drugs. “It’s also associated with aggression and violence.”

Flakka is easy to consume in a number of ways, Dr. Larry says, including:

  • By injection
  • Snorting
  • Through ingestion
  • By inhalation

“Some even vape it,” Dr. Larry says.

The ease of delivery into the body is just one of the reasons why Dr. Larry thinks “we may see more of it.” Dr. Larry suggests that the other two biggest indicators that flakka will continue to increase in popular usage is:

  • It’s cheap to make and cheap to purchase, costing about 80 cents per dose
  • People feel euphoric on it

But Dr. Larry hasn’t seen any flakka-related hospitalizations in his E.R. yet, and he correctly guessed that Harrouff didn’t have the substance in his system. “From an E.R. perspective, there’s a lot of different drugs; methamphetamine comes to mind, where people can be kind of amped up and excited, and then also aggressive and violent.”

Dr. Larry still sees a high number of drug-related hospitalizations, but none in the much-hyped designer drug category. “Cocaine, meth, heroine — those are the main drugs of abuse that I see,” he says.

In the case of Harouff, flakka nor any other drugs were involved in the killings. But the use of legal amphetamines like flakka may continue to climb in popularity.[/cs_text][x_gap size=”50px”][/cs_column][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/3″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_widget_area sidebar=”sidebar-main” ][x_widget_area sidebar=”ups-sidebar-adoption-services” class=”man”][/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px 0px 30px;border-style: solid;border-width: 1px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]

Featured Content

[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 20px 0px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][ess_grid alias=”featured_content”][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]

About the Author

Dr. Larry Burchett, MD

ER doctor, national media personality, and author, Dr. Larry Burchett’s candor and unique perspective have opened up a broader conversation on what it means to be a modern man.

Tags: