Zombie drug arrives in Durban

ANTI-DRUG activist Sam Pillay has described symptoms displayed by people under the influence of a dangerous drug‚ which has made its way to Durban‚ as like watching a horror movie.

Pillay‚ founder and director of Anti-Drug Forum SA‚ is also worried that the drug – known as “flakka”, or the “zombie drug” –which has been sweeping the streets of Australia and the US‚ has hit Durban at the time school exams are about to finish.

“We’re very worried that it’s starting at this time of the year when exams are finishing‚” said Pillay.

The Chatsworth-based Anti-Drug Forum is a voluntary organisation which was formed in April 2005 to assist a community that was and still is being ravaged by substance abuse.

Pillay said they had already had some people coming to their centre for help.

“We have experienced it with some people who come to our centre and their drinks were spiked. They claimed they did not know it was in the drink. After drinking that they displayed those symptoms of flakka: they started feeling the effects of flakka. They turn into zombies and become abusive and violent and they were imagining things‚” said Pillay.

He said it was scary that the drug had reached Durban and surrounding areas.

“We know that the Specialised Crime Unit is working on it‚” said Pillay.

It is said to take five days for the drug to be fully flushed out of the system.

Flakka is priced R400 and R1 000.

Flakka is a combination of heroin and crack‚ but its scientific description is that the drug is just a newer-generation version of bath salts.

Pillay said it could be taken in tablet form or snorted in powder form.

He is also worried about the danger the drug could pose to the community. “The biggest worry is that the user is left in that state for a long time. This could be very dangerous to people around them‚” he said. between