Synthetic drugs could hit area
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
July 22, 2015
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/072215_PS_New_Drugs
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Area law enforcement officials are voicing concern about two synthetic drugs they fear could make their way into western Kentucky.
Alpha-PVP, or Flakka, an illegal synthetic drug that causes users to become hyper paranoid, delusional and exhibit super-human strength, has hit some eastern Kentucky communities hard.
Another drug, "Zannie," an aerosolized form of phenazepam - a combination of Xanax and Valium - has surfaced in Louisiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Arkansas, and officials warn it could make its way here.
'Worst drug I've seen'
In Lewis County, about 90 miles northeast of Lexington, Sheriff Johnny Bivens and his deputies started fielding calls last December that dealt with people exhibiting "bizarre behavior"after taking Flakka.
"It was behavior that really we'd never seen before," Bivens said. "These people were exhibiting extreme paranoia; they thought people were out to get them or harm them."
The county's emergency dispatch received reports of people naked, some had abscesses, others were sweating profusely or fidgeting.
In one report, a man was lying in the middle of a road petting a dog. Another was armed with a butcher knife and a hammer.
Lab tests confirmed these people were using Flakka, Bivens said.
"This is the worst drug I've seen in my 18-year career," he said.
As a sheriff, Bivens said he has responded to many of these calls, and the toll Flakka is taking on the user is severe.
"Weight loss is not uncommon - 20 pounds a month," he said. "I know people that have lost up to 50 pounds. Their bodies may be covered in abscesses. They're extremely paranoid. They always think somebody's chasing them or trying to kill them. It's just constant."
The sheriff said he has interviewed several Flakka users since the drug surfaced in his area, and they tell him the substance is unlike any other.
"They'll tell you it's like crack cocaine but it's better, or crystal meth but better, and it's so addictive that you just can't stop, you just have to constantly have it."
Alpha-PVP, or Flakka, an illegal synthetic drug that causes users to become hyper paranoid, delusional and exhibit super-human strength, has hit some eastern Kentucky communities hard.
Another drug, "Zannie," an aerosolized form of phenazepam - a combination of Xanax and Valium - has surfaced in Louisiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Arkansas, and officials warn it could make its way here.
'Worst drug I've seen'
In Lewis County, about 90 miles northeast of Lexington, Sheriff Johnny Bivens and his deputies started fielding calls last December that dealt with people exhibiting "bizarre behavior"after taking Flakka.
"It was behavior that really we'd never seen before," Bivens said. "These people were exhibiting extreme paranoia; they thought people were out to get them or harm them."
The county's emergency dispatch received reports of people naked, some had abscesses, others were sweating profusely or fidgeting.
In one report, a man was lying in the middle of a road petting a dog. Another was armed with a butcher knife and a hammer.
Lab tests confirmed these people were using Flakka, Bivens said.
"This is the worst drug I've seen in my 18-year career," he said.
As a sheriff, Bivens said he has responded to many of these calls, and the toll Flakka is taking on the user is severe.
"Weight loss is not uncommon - 20 pounds a month," he said. "I know people that have lost up to 50 pounds. Their bodies may be covered in abscesses. They're extremely paranoid. They always think somebody's chasing them or trying to kill them. It's just constant."
The sheriff said he has interviewed several Flakka users since the drug surfaced in his area, and they tell him the substance is unlike any other.
"They'll tell you it's like crack cocaine but it's better, or crystal meth but better, and it's so addictive that you just can't stop, you just have to constantly have it."
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'Just a matter of time'
Another drug, Zannie, has surfaced in some nearby states and been linked to a handful of overdoses in the U.S. It has also caught the attention of local officials who are concerned that it could surface here.
Packaged in a small green and white aerosol container, Zannie is being marketed as a relaxing air freshener.
In reality, the canister contains aerosolized phenazepam, a combination of Xanax and Valium, which are benzodiazepine drugs used medically to combat anxiety, epilepsy, alcohol withdrawal and insomnia, among other conditions.
K-9 Officer Charles Fisher with the Carlisle County Sheriff's Office said law enforcement officials have not encountered Zannie in western Kentucky, "but it's just a matter of time."
"Zannie has been around since about 2009 in the western part of the United States," he said. "It's starting to make its way this direction now, and it's a very, very potent drug ... and unfortunately, this drug has the potential of creating a feeling of extremely high euphoria."
Typically, Zannie users are ingesting the drug - spraying it into their mouths or into an alcoholic beverage, Fisher said. Some lace tobacco or marijuana cigarettes with the substance and smoke them.
Phenazepam - Zannie's main component - is classified as a central nervous system depressant and can cause delirium, hallucinations and retrograde amnesia.
"That's where the overdoses are coming in," Fisher said. "Kids are forgetting the last time they dosed. They'll dose, they'll get high, they start having the euphoric episodes, then they forget when they last dosed and overdose."
Because the substance can affect the user's memory, medical professionals in Louisiana have also voiced concern that Zannie could also be used as a date-rape drug.
On the lookout
Both the Paducah Police Department and the McCracken County Sheriff's Department said they have not seen any sign of Flakka or Zannie in the area yet but are boning up on research to be ready if it does arrive.
"We have the same concerns that we've had in the past with other synthetic drugs ... you never really know how a new substance is going to affect different people," said McCracken Sheriff Jon Hayden. "There's no quality control when it comes to the manufacture of some of these substances that are coming out, and a lot of it is fad driven."
Hayden said drug "fads" that have hit the area in recent years include bath salts, synthetic marijuana and huffing canned air.
"You know a lot of people thought (synthetic marijuana) wouldn't be as bad as the real thing when, in all actuality, I've never encountered a person that's ended up in the emergency room from a (real) marijuana overdose. But the synthetic marijuana overdoses have been significant and the same with the bath salts."
Sgt. Anthony Copeland of the Paducah Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division agreed.
"I think we always need to be concerned when something new is coming up, especially if the public isn't aware of what the dangers are. ... We are constantly trying to keep on top of what the new trend may be so we can keep the public safe," he said.
"The issue, such as with Zannie or Flakka, is people may look at those drugs and think they're kind of a middle-ground drugs - the misconception that it's safer ... when in all reality these drugs are (very) dangerous."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
Another drug, Zannie, has surfaced in some nearby states and been linked to a handful of overdoses in the U.S. It has also caught the attention of local officials who are concerned that it could surface here.
Packaged in a small green and white aerosol container, Zannie is being marketed as a relaxing air freshener.
In reality, the canister contains aerosolized phenazepam, a combination of Xanax and Valium, which are benzodiazepine drugs used medically to combat anxiety, epilepsy, alcohol withdrawal and insomnia, among other conditions.
K-9 Officer Charles Fisher with the Carlisle County Sheriff's Office said law enforcement officials have not encountered Zannie in western Kentucky, "but it's just a matter of time."
"Zannie has been around since about 2009 in the western part of the United States," he said. "It's starting to make its way this direction now, and it's a very, very potent drug ... and unfortunately, this drug has the potential of creating a feeling of extremely high euphoria."
Typically, Zannie users are ingesting the drug - spraying it into their mouths or into an alcoholic beverage, Fisher said. Some lace tobacco or marijuana cigarettes with the substance and smoke them.
Phenazepam - Zannie's main component - is classified as a central nervous system depressant and can cause delirium, hallucinations and retrograde amnesia.
"That's where the overdoses are coming in," Fisher said. "Kids are forgetting the last time they dosed. They'll dose, they'll get high, they start having the euphoric episodes, then they forget when they last dosed and overdose."
Because the substance can affect the user's memory, medical professionals in Louisiana have also voiced concern that Zannie could also be used as a date-rape drug.
On the lookout
Both the Paducah Police Department and the McCracken County Sheriff's Department said they have not seen any sign of Flakka or Zannie in the area yet but are boning up on research to be ready if it does arrive.
"We have the same concerns that we've had in the past with other synthetic drugs ... you never really know how a new substance is going to affect different people," said McCracken Sheriff Jon Hayden. "There's no quality control when it comes to the manufacture of some of these substances that are coming out, and a lot of it is fad driven."
Hayden said drug "fads" that have hit the area in recent years include bath salts, synthetic marijuana and huffing canned air.
"You know a lot of people thought (synthetic marijuana) wouldn't be as bad as the real thing when, in all actuality, I've never encountered a person that's ended up in the emergency room from a (real) marijuana overdose. But the synthetic marijuana overdoses have been significant and the same with the bath salts."
Sgt. Anthony Copeland of the Paducah Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division agreed.
"I think we always need to be concerned when something new is coming up, especially if the public isn't aware of what the dangers are. ... We are constantly trying to keep on top of what the new trend may be so we can keep the public safe," he said.
"The issue, such as with Zannie or Flakka, is people may look at those drugs and think they're kind of a middle-ground drugs - the misconception that it's safer ... when in all reality these drugs are (very) dangerous."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
