A SYNTHETIC designer drug that has been linked to cannibalism, wide-eyed rage and superhuman strength has been unleashed onto Wagga’s streets.
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Reports have surfaced that Flakka, a lethal cocktail of ice, LSD and hallucinogens, has led to at least four people being admitted to Wagga Rural Referral Hospital last weekend.
Resident Lou Stapleton was horrified after she encountered a “zombified” young man under the influence of the deadly drug in Junee last week.
“It was bloody scary, frightening and crazy and I’ve never seen anything like it before,” she said on Facebook.
“To know we have this drug in our town is downright petrifying because it’s a completely different type of war on drugs.
“I'm pretty scared for the near-future of this town if this drug takes over.”
It is believed the drug sells for as cheap at $5 per hit and has allegedly led to international cases where one man took a bite out of a baby’s face, and another tried to have sex with a tree.
Fears the horror drug would reach Australian shores became a reality last year when Flakka was first detected in a number of post-mortem results.
Murrumbidgee Local Health District could not confirm the exact number of admissions for Flakka usage because data did not specify what drug a patient had taken.
Wagga crime manager Inspector Darren Cloake said the effects of Flakka are much more adverse and severe than ice.
“I’ve had one report of someone having an adverse reaction to it and considering what we have seen with ice, this takes it to a whole new level,” he said.
“Our message to the community is one of abstinence and people who are willing to try this should do so at their own risk.
“This is one nasty drug and anyone who uses it may face the consequences.”
Manager at Calvary Alcohol and Drug Centre Brendan McCorry said Flakka abuse was easily confused with the use of methamphetamine because of their similarities.
“The problem is that most would treat it as a psychotic reaction to methamphetamine or ice when they may have taken Flakka without knowing it,” he said.
“We know it’s a very new drug to Australia so the first people to come across it will be emergency and law enforcement. It’s essentially a more potent form of ice.”
