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Rise Of "Flakka" Has Policymakers Eying More Drug Legislation

AP

Kentucky lawmakers have likened the state’s efforts to tamp down on drug abuse to a game of whack-a-mole, with new drugs quickly supplanting the old. And officials are now targeting a synthetic substance that’s gaining in popularity.

Little is known about exactly what goes on in the brains of those using the drug known as “flakka,” but the outward effects are startling – while users report a sustained high similar to the sensation produced by crack cocaine, the alpha-PVP-derived substance can also lead to erratic behavior, paranoia, hallucinations, and displays of increased strength.

House Judiciary Committee Chair John Tilley wants to stop the spread of flakka with legislation that would stiffen the penalties for unlawful trafficking in synthetic drugs. Monday, Kentucky leaders met in Vanceburg, located in a county that officials worry could become a hotbed for the designer drug, to announce the bill.

House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins told the audience addiction is threatening the fabric of too many Kentucky communities.

"We have to get this problem, this scourge, under control," the Sandy Hook Democrat said. "We cannot allow a generation of people to impacted and destroyed in a very negative. So we have to do all we can, from legislators, to give you the help on the ground that you need as prosecutors and law enforcement."

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Tilley says he intends to pre-file legislation making trafficking in synthetic drugs an automatic Class D felony. Current law treats the first offense as a Class A misdemeanor.

Josh James fell in love with college radio at Western Kentucky University's student station, New Rock 92 (now Revolution 91.7). After working as a DJ and program director, he knew he wanted to come home to Lexington and try his hand in public radio.