The drug that’s becoming all the rage in Florida has claimed its youngest victim.
A baby who died an hour after being born prematurely to a Fort Lauderdale woman had Flakka in his system.
There is no word on possible charges against the mother.
Following from the National Institutes of Health:
Use of a dangerous synthetic cathinone drug called alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone (alpha-PDP), popularly known as “Flakka,” is surging in Florida and is also being reported in other parts of the country, according to news reports.
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.