ATLANTA — A drug that causes unpredictable bizarre behavior, violent outbursts and superhuman strength is moving into Georgia.
Some call flakka the "$5 fantasy drug."
The drug, that can be snorted, smoked or swallowed, is rampant throughout Florida and has crossed the border into south Georgia.
Valdosta police told Channel 2's Tom Regan at this time last year, they only had one or two cases involving flakka.
Now Valdosta Police Chief Brian Childress says his officers are confronting deranged flakka users just about every day.
Childress shared several videos with Regan of encounters with flakka users.
In one instance, the video shows a man repeatedly cutting himself on the arms and neck. In another, a man accuses police of not being real officers.
Valdosta police Sgt. Heather Willis told Regan she has answered several calls involving people under the influence of flakka.
"This is a threat to the community," said Willis. "(Users) run out into traffic. They're thinking people are after them. And if you try to give them help, sometimes they're going to become resistant and fight you."
"They're totally delusional," said Childress. "Then it increases their physical ability two or three times."
Childress told Regan that Flakka caught his department off guard when it showed up in Valdosta three months ago.
The drug is cheap, highly profitable and addictive, Childress said.
Flakka is made from Alpha-PVP, a variation of the chemicals used to make so-called bath salts.
"If you increase the dosage just slightly, it's a game changer. You're going from a high to an out-of-control maniac," Childress said.
Childress was the officer who confronted the man cutting himself while high on Flakka. He repeatedly told the man that he was not going to hurt him and to put down the knife.
Officers had to user a Taser to protect themselves and the man.
"I've been in law enforcement since 1988 and that's one of the scariest things I've seen in my life," Childress told Regan.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed Flakka is on its radar as it possibly continues to move north throughout the state.
"It's a re-emerging trend with an updated name," said Nelly Miles of the GBI. "You have no idea what you're getting if you take this."
WSBTV
