Devil's Drug': Flakka Is Driving Florida Insane (thread contains a video with disturbing scenes)

[eddie]

'Devil's Drug': Flakka Is Driving Florida Insane

An emergency room doctor calls it as "five-dollar insanity." A rehab director says it's the "devil's drug."

On the street, it's known as flakka — a synthetic crystal imported from China that is wreaking havoc in South Florida and threatening to spread its misery and profits across the country.

It's cheap, crazily addictive and terrifying. A single dose smoked, swallowed or snorted can give a user a potent but fleeting rush — or turn them into a paranoid zombie with superhuman strength and off-the-charts vital signs.

In the 14 months since the epidemic began in Broward County, 60 people have died. Hospitals are getting dozens of patients a day. And some nights, half the calls to police are flakka-related emergencies.

Homeland Security has a Florida unit devoted to the drug, and United Way of Broward County launched a multi-agency task force to crack down on the scourge.

"If we don't get it right here, it's going to explode," United Way chief executive Kathleen Cannon said.

37-year-old old mother of two named Stephanie told NBC News about her first experience with flakka, which she unwittingly smoked during a drug binge.

A quick blast of euphoria was followed by a sickening fear. As the drug deregulated her autonomic nervous system, she began hallucinating that she was being chased and took off running.

Her body temperature spiked and she tore off some of her clothes and jumped three stories off a bridge into the Intercoastal Waterway.

"I just remember being in the water and feeling like I could breathe under water," she said.

More on link: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/devils-drug-flakka-driving-florida-insane-n471531

WARNING: some people may find the following video contains disturbing scenes

[eddie]

That drug is seriously dangerous.

Why has it appeared and where does it come from?

[eddie]

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