Flakka, known scientifically as alpha-Pyrrolidinopentiophenone, had been floating around for years as an occasional ingredient in certain forms of "bath salts," but a rise in distribution and use was detected in 2013. In fact, federal authorities didn't even officially deem the drug illegal until early 2014.
The drug often leaves users in a state of psychosis. Public rampages, frequently in the nude, were a common side-effect. People on the drug have done everything from crashing a car into a county jail and then
Broward was ground zero for the epidemic. In
The Washington Post, however, reports the
In just a few months, and with little attention, flakka has disappeared from South Florida.The paper even followed one Broward County deputy on patrol as he cruised through the hangout spots where flakka users once gathered and
Experts say drug epidemics almost never burn out like this. Look at the current distress in vast swaths of the country over heroin and its synthetic cousin fentanyl. What happened in Florida, experts say, was the result of unprecedented coordination among local groups to fight flakka’s demand and — most importantly — the unusual willingness of the Chinese government to halt flakka’s production. Florida officials early on blamed overseas labs for supplying the drug flooding American shores.
Hospitals in Broward treated 306 people on flakka in October. By December, that number was down to 54.
Cutting off the supply was a major factor in the fight. On October 1 last year, China, a hot spot for manufacturing the synthetic drug, announced it would ban the substance and other related synthetic drugs.
Meanwhile, feds cracked down on importers and dealers, and the first
New forms of treatment and concentrated anti-
Like other forms of bath salts and the pain pill epidemic before it,
