Buzz
We’ve all been warned about the dangers of drugs through sensationalized stories. From wild tales of minds being destroyed, reckless leaps off cliffs, to violent outbursts, we've heard it all. The infamous 'reefer madness' tales often sound so extreme, they seem impossible to believe.
But flakka—the dangerous new synthetic drug that allegedly turns people into zombies—is a whole different story. It’s a newer form of bath salts that hasn’t made its way into widespread use yet. However, those who do try it have gone on violent, mindless rampages that make even the most terrifying drug stories sound mild in comparison.
Flakka has a unique effect on its users, pushing them to perform outrageous acts that no other drug seems to trigger. The stories you’ve heard might sound exaggerated, but these events have been captured on video. Watch for yourself, and you’ll understand just how frightening the impact of this zombie drug really is.
10. It Makes Users Move Like Zombies
Flakka is known as 'the Zombie Drug' for a reason. It’s the disturbing way people move while under its influence. Their bodies twist and jerk in an unnatural, unsettling manner, almost as if they’ve become a zombie.
When someone overdoses on flakka, their muscle fibers begin breaking down and entering the bloodstream. This causes uncontrollable movement, with their heads dropping below their shoulders, or their limbs stiffening and jerking out. It’s as though you're watching a puppet whose strings have been cut, or a glitch in a video game.
But it’s not just the bizarre appearance that’s alarming. Flakka triggers the brain’s fight-or-flight response, often turning users irrationally violent. At the same time, it induces paranoid delusions, causing their minds to fabricate reasons to start fighting.
In one instance, a man high on flakka began violently destroying his own home. He ripped apart the furniture and aggressively threw himself into the walls, beating himself senseless before the police even arrived. By the time they subdued him, he had already died.
The apartment was left in ruins, resembling a crime scene. 'If it weren't for the body cameras, I'd probably have two officers in jail right now,' said the investigator, surveying the demolished home and the battered body of the man who had fatally beaten himself.
9. It Has Driven People to Kill
The most infamous case linked to flakka is the story of Austin Harrouff, a 19-year-old who was caught chewing off his neighbor’s face and growling like a wild animal. His extreme behavior, paranoia, and apparent superhuman strength led people to believe he was under the influence of flakka. However, toxicology tests revealed that he hadn’t taken any drugs at all.
When it was revealed that the notorious killer connected to flakka wasn’t actually on the drug, some began to downplay the terrifying stories surrounding it. But even if Harrouff wasn't under the influence, there are plenty of other cases where individuals became murderers after using the drug.
In another incident, Leroy Strothers, after taking flakka, grabbed a gun, stripped off his clothes, climbed onto a rooftop, and began firing on his neighbors. He later claimed to the police that he believed a Haitian gang was outside trying to kill his family.
Derren Morrison, also under the influence of flakka, became convinced that an elderly woman, 82 years old, was a blood-drenched, murderous demon out to kill him. He broke into her home and savagely attacked her. The elderly woman was hospitalized, but after three agonizing months, she succumbed to her injuries and died.
“Flakka actually begins to rewire the brain's chemistry. Users lose control over their thoughts and actions,” one expert explained. “It’s almost a given that they believe someone is chasing them. This is a profoundly dangerous drug.”
8. It’s Ten Times More Potent Than Cocaine
Flakka can make people dangerous, but its true threat comes from how cheap and potent it is. The drug is ten times more powerful than cocaine, so much so that anything beyond 0.1 grams can trigger an overdose.
Some refer to it as “$5 Insanity” because for just $5, you can get a dose of flakka that hits as hard as $80 worth of cocaine. It’s a drug that packs a serious punch, and while people might enjoy it at first, it’s highly addictive and quickly erodes a person’s judgment, compelling them to take more than they should.
Taking more than 0.1 grams of flakka leads to a drastic shift. Your body temperature can spike to 41 degrees Celsius (106 °F), your muscle fibers break down, triggering spasms, cramps, and breathing difficulties. Even the rhythm of your heartbeat becomes a struggle.
In the short period that flakka has been available, numerous overdoses have led to fatalities. Whether through heart attacks, seizures, or strokes, the outcome was always the same: the victims’ hearts stopped beating.
7. It Can Block Your Ability to Feel Pain
Pain exists for a reason. It’s your body’s way of signaling that something is wrong and that you need help. It’s essential for survival, but flakka disrupts that process, as evidenced by the disturbing video of a flakka user in Brazil.
The video spread across the internet after a man, intoxicated on flakka, arrived at a hospital with a severe gunshot wound to his face. Despite the life-threatening injury, he appeared unaware, walking around with his back arched unnaturally, growling and laughing at those trying to help, looking like someone overtaken by a malevolent force.
This wasn’t an isolated case. In 2015, Florida police were called to stop a blood-covered 17-year-old girl running wildly down the street, shouting, “I am God! I am Satan!” She had been injured after jumping through the window of a stranger’s house. The family inside watched in horror as the bloodied girl leaped out, pounded against their car window, attacked a person on the lawn, and then fled the scene.
6. It Led to a Surge of Paranoid and Dangerous Streaking Incidents
At the peak of the flakka epidemic, Florida newspapers were filled with reports of people running naked through the streets, often driven by delusions of paranoia.
In one such instance, police responded to a call to find a man named Kenneth Crowder, his pants around his knees, attempting to engage in inappropriate behavior with a tree. When he refused to comply, officers attempted to subdue him with a taser. Crowder, however, didn’t stop. He yelled at the officer, declaring himself Thor, the god of thunder, before charging at him, scratching his face and even attempting to steal his badge to use it as a weapon.
In another bizarre case, a 34-year-old man, Matthew Kenney, was seen running naked through a busy intersection. When the police stopped him, he claimed an evil group had taken his clothes and was now hunting him down, intent on killing him.
Desperate, he ran into the streets, hoping someone would hit him with a car. “If I get run over, they’ll stop chasing me,” he told the officers. He cared little for his own safety, saying he would “rather die than be caught” by the twisted figures chasing him in his mind.
5. Flakka Users Have Assaulted Law Enforcement Officers
Individuals under the influence of flakka are not just aggressive—they exhibit a complete lack of fear. They engage in actions that most people would find unimaginable, including confronting police directly.
In one instance, a man from Coconut Creek attempted to run over a police officer. The officer narrowly escaped, but the flakka user crashed into his car before speeding off at over 160 kilometers per hour (100 mph). When apprehended, the man simply apologized, saying, 'Flakka made me do it.'
This may sound insane, but he wasn’t alone. Another individual attempted to scale a 3-meter-tall (10 ft) security fence surrounding a jail. He failed and ended up impaling himself on one of the spikes, but his reasoning was that someone was out to kill him, and his only refuge was behind bars.
In yet another bizarre case, a man drove his car into the Indian River County Jail, crashed it, and then tried to scale the fence. When caught by the police, he was found tangled in the razor wire. His explanation was that he simply wanted to visit his friends in jail.
4. It Grants Users Superhuman Strength
Somehow, flakka appears to grant users superhuman strength. It alters their brain chemistry to the point where they tap into a power similar to what a mother uses when she lifts a car off her child, making them incredibly dangerous.
James West, after smoking flakka, tried to force his way into the Fort Lauderdale police headquarters. Paranoid, he believed that 25 cars were chasing him and attempting to run him over. Desperate for help, he tried to break down the front door of the police station.
West's attempts to break in were wild. He kicked a hole in the hurricane-proof glass, smashed it with rocks, and nearly tore the door off its hinges. A detective later described the scene, saying, 'His strength was so intense that you could see the door shaking and the rocks crashing against the window.'
And West wasn’t the only one able to destroy doors. Another man in West Palm Beach, while under the influence of flakka, became violent when security asked him to leave a hospital. In his rage, he broke through the hospital’s glass doors with his bare hands.
“That’s the effect of this drug. It completely distorts reality,” explained Dr. Nabil Ed Sanadi, an emergency physician. “People are simply using their physical strength to escape whatever their mind is telling them.”
3. It’s Still Around
The United States government has taken considerable pride in its efforts to curb the flakka epidemic, managing to almost entirely eliminate its domestic supply. For many, this indicates the problem has been solved. However, the situation outside of the US tells a different story.
Flakka use is on the rise in Brazil, where it’s fueling a new crisis. In fact, three of the videos in this article were recorded in Brazil this year. The drug is spreading to other countries as well, with authorities in Scotland, Canada, Australia, Malta, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and numerous other nations beginning to encounter flakka during drug busts and in the bloodstream of criminals.
The drug hasn’t completely vanished from the US either. While Florida is experiencing what law enforcement refers to as a “drought” of flakka, the drug is beginning to reappear in other states, alarming authorities—because this is not like other substances.
As one Florida officer remarked: “At the peak of the flakka epidemic, you’d almost find yourself wishing for the return of crack cocaine.”
2. It’s Available for Purchase Online
The truly frightening aspect of flakka is how easily it can be bought. Though regulations have become stricter, during its peak, flakka could be purchased online with just a few clicks.
Around 150 different Chinese companies sold the drug online. The largest of these was Kaikai Technology Co., led by a Chinese drug kingpin named Bo Peng, though he was likely just one of many who sold flakka on online marketplaces. They priced a kilogram of the drug at $1,500, which could typically be resold for around $50,000 on the streets.
Until recently, it was entirely legal for these companies to sell flakka. That doesn’t mean they shied away from the darker aspects of their business. When The New York Times contacted a flakka dealer to inquire about shipping costs, the customer service representative casually remarked, “I can take care of this for you legally or illegally.”
Laws surrounding flakka are becoming more restrictive. The United States implemented a temporary ban on the substance in 2013 and is working towards a permanent ban, while China banned it in 2015. However, in many other parts of the world, the conversation is just beginning, meaning that in some areas, flakka remains legal.
1. It Drives People to Despair
Flakka doesn't just turn its users into a threat to others; it makes them a threat to themselves as well. The drug can engulf them in intense feelings of depression and lead to suicidal thoughts. In fact, some of the first fatalities linked to flakka were suicides.
When John Hummel Jr. began using flakka, he was overwhelmed by paranoia. He reached out to his mother with frantic calls, describing his hallucinations. “Someone’s after me,” he told her. “It’s the cops, the helicopters are overhead.” His mother tried to reach him, but it was too late. He was later found in a hotel closet, having taken his own life with an electrical cord.
The drug can strip people of their regard for human life. One woman in Palm Beach, Florida, didn't choose to end her own life; instead, she abandoned her baby. Under the influence of the drug, she walked to Walmart, fed her one-year-old child a meal of bacon cheddar chips and a bottle of Sprite, and left him there. After blacking out, she woke up in a Dunkin Donuts parking lot. By that time, police had found her child, crying and alone in the Walmart parking lot.
