W’burg Police warn of resurgence of ‘Flakka’

“Flakka,” mixed with crystal methamphetamine “ICE”, is making its second wave through Whitley County since its first appearance last year, reports the Williamsburg Police Department.

Flakka, also known as “Gravel,” is often described as a form of bath salts. According to DrugFree.org, Flakka is a synthetic cathinone that contains Alpha-PVP, which is chemically similar to bath salts.

Flakka is said to cause excited delirium, including hyper-stimulation, paranoia, and hallucinations. As other fad drugs of the past, flakka has seen to create a sense of “super human strength” in those who use it, along with extreme violence and aggravation.

In an interview with CNN, Kevin Stanfill of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration of Miami said, “Here in South Florida, we have had instances where people have taken Flakka and it had taken six police officers to hold them down.”

Stanfill also stated in his interview that Miami had first seen Flakka in 2012 and that it was being sent via mail from China. Lawmakers have worked to stop the distribution of Flakka, however it still found its way to Williamsburg.

Last year, when “ICE” was spreading across Whitley County, it was the first time Flakka had made an appearance being laced with the methamphetamine.

Williamsburg Police Chief had requested at the time for UNITE to help spread awareness of the lethal combination, stating that it was spreading faster than anything he had seen drug-wise.

Though it seemed to have faded away over the last year, the Williamsburg Police Department warned on its Facebook page that there have been two cases of Flakka within the last week alone.

In an interview with WYMT, Williamsburg Police Chief Wayne Bird described users of Flakka to be something out of a horror movie.

“I can’t describe the people that are on this and how violent they are. If you’ve ever seen the movie ‘The Exorcist,’ picture her in the bed in the movie…because that’s what these people look like that are on this,” said Bird in the interview.

Williamsburg Police Department and the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department is pleading to the public, especially drug users, to educate themselves on the dangers of this drug.

Adam Sulfridge of the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department was also interviewed by WYMT stating, “A lot of people do not know that they’re actually getting drugs with these synthetics in them… So we just want people to stop and think for a second, do you really trust your dealer?”

The Williamsburg Police Department asks that if anyone has information about someone who is selling this drug to please contact us at 606-549-6087 or 606-549-6038, you can remain anonymous.