No sign of flakka drug yet
AS DISTURBING videos flood social media of bizarre behaviour exhibited by people allegedly using a new drug called “flakka”, police say they have no record of anyarrests in relation to the drug in the province.
The provincial health department also says it is not aware of any cases involving the drug yet.
Nicknamed the “zombie drug”, flakka, is classed in the same category as tik and Cat. Local experts have warned of the drug’s effects, which can include psychosis, aggression and suicidal tendencies.
Provincial police spokesperson André Traut said police were aware of the drug but had no record of any arrests or confiscations.
Stikland Hospital Addiction Services head Dr Lize Weich said the provincial health department had heard of the drug. “The Western Cape Health Department is not aware of any cases involving the drug. I have not seen any patients who have reported using this drug here in the Cape Town area yet,” she said.
“‘Flakka’ is the USstreet name for alpha-PVP (pyrrolidinopentiophenone), a synthetic stimulant of the cathinone class (similar to methamphetamine ‘tik’ or methcathinone ‘Cat’. It is a man-made designer drug with effects and complications similar to other stimulant drugs in this class. One had to assume that the ‘flakka’ on social media in South Africa was either the same or a related synthetic cathinone, Weich said.
Clinical effects depended on the individual’s susceptibility, the dose and the route of administration, she added. Alpha-PVP can cause addiction and multiple medical conditions, including heart attacks, strokes, psychiatric complications, even death.
Tygerberg Poisons Information Centre staff member and senior lecturer at Stellenbosch University Carine Marks said exposure usually occurred via inhalation (snorted or smoked) or it is injected.
“These drugs hijack the pathways of the brain that are concerned with reward and cause the user to feel intense euphoria or happiness and also provide the user with an unusual amount of energy.
“Brief episodes of drug-induced psychosis have developed. Raised body temperature, low blood pressure, acute renal failure and cardiac dysrhythmias may develop. Seizures may develop following a significant exposure,” she said.
Provincial education department spokesperson Paddy Attwell said the Safe Schools Call Centre had not received any reports of the drug.
“The department will continue to urge learners and parents to be vigilant about substance abuse of any kind,” he said.
Users with none to minor symptoms can be watched at home. Patients with deliberate self-harm ingestions or children with any ingestion should be sent to a health-care facility for observation for six to eight hours. The public can consult a poison centre at 0861 555 777 in managing patients with severe toxicity.