Community Relations Branch chief Superintendent George Vale of the Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) is now in an awareness campaign against the “latest craze” in illegal drugs in the market today.
The BPPO has become abreast of this drug from international intelligence agencies and their respective reports.
Doctors abroad who know of the drug call it the “devil’s drug” or the “five-dollar insanity.”
According to reports, it is known as flakka, a synthetic crystal imported from China and is currently wreaking havoc in South Florida and threatening to spread its misery and profits across the entire United States.
The Department of Homeland Security has reported that flakka can be bought overseas for $1,000 to $2,000 a kilogram and could then be sold to a U.S. wholesaler for $4,000 to $6,000 per kilo.
Sold on the streets, a single kilo can fetch $40,000 to $50,000 in $5 doses; hence, the term “five-dollar insanity.”
Said drug is “cheap, crazily addictive and terrifying, where a single dose smoked, swallowed or snorted can give a user a potent but fleeting rush; or turn them into a paranoid zombie with superhuman strength and off-the-charts vital signs.”
It is a cathinone, chemically related to drugs called bath salts, which goes by the pharmaceutical name of Alpha PVP.
The substance can be grounded into powder and is at times used to cut other drugs because it’s so inexpensive.
The drug is so cheap that its profit margin is staggering.
People who have taken the drug have been reported to have a heart rate of 150-200 beats per minute, with blood pressure at near-lethal levels like 230/160.
Doctors say that of all the drugs they have seen; that is, cocaine, amphetamines, heroin, and oxycontin, “this is the absolute worst.”
They also say that they’ve never seen anything like it and that it is by far worse than crack.
Flakka spelled with a K is a Hispanic colloquial term referring to a beautiful, slender, elegant woman who charms all she meets.
Ironic, doctors say, because “this charmer is a killer.”
We should still be thankful though, assures Supt. Vale, because flakka has not yet reached Bohol.
Of the 1,109 barangays here, only 17 are unaffected by drugs, while 477 are waiting to be cleared.
To date, police operatives have already visited 50,182 households for its anti-illegal drugs campaign and were able to arrest 891 drug-related suspects.
They were also able to seize 4,474.43 grams of shabu and 76 firearms during anti-illegal drug operations.
Still, the BPPO is worried about this new drug.
A small overdose which can be injected, snorted or smoked can lead to a range of extreme symptoms spiking the body temperature giving the user a superhuman strength and zombie-like appearance.
A typical high of the drug can last from one to several hours with possible permanent neurological effects.
It could also cause muscles to break down potentially affecting the kidneys where an overdose may cause a survivor to undergo dialysis for life.
Though given all these threats, however, Gov. Chatto always reiterates that “we should always bear in mind that awareness is the key.”
Nevertheless, he cautioned that criminality would never flourish as long as Boholanos fully understand what it means to be truly free from the bondage of drugs, poverty, criminality, and terrorism. (JANETV/PGBh/EDCom)