Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jul 2015
Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (NY)
Copyright: 2015 Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Contact:  http://www.democratandchronicle.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/614
Author: Gary Craig

FEDS WARN OF CONTINUED DESIGNER DRUG HAZARDS

When federal authorities shut down a website that peddled designer 
drugs, one previous purchaser wondered just what to do and whether 
the cops could be coming for him.

He reached out to the website operator, who told him not to worry and 
provided him with a new website to buy the illicit drugs.

The buyer, who had already gotten one shipment of designer drugs, was 
federal Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Brad Brechler. 
And the exchange showed just how easy it is to buy the illegal 
substances, Brechler said at a news conference in Buffalo.

Recent police crackdowns, coupled with changes in state laws, have 
helped slow the wave of designer drugs - substances that are 
constructed in laboratories and can have dangerous side effects. But 
the manufacturers, many of them at Chinese laboratories, are 
constantly tweaking chemical compounds and building new synthetic 
drugs. In turn, police have a difficult time keeping tabs on the 
latest fads, and the threats they pose.

Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, held its news conference to 
highlight the dangers of designer drugs. While the continuing rash of 
heroin overdoses has dominated news for the past year, designer drugs 
are still popular at concerts and clubs, HSI investigators said. And 
the smoke shops that once sold the drugs are largely out of business, 
but they still can be found behind the counter at some western New York stores.

The mail is the largest route for the drugs, HSI investigators said.

They've been meeting with concert promoters and club operators to 
discuss the signs of designer drug overdoses. Concert security is 
limited in how much it can do to prevent drugs at the shows, because 
the packets and dosages are often so small - a fraction of a gram.

But those small packets can pack a lot of profit. One western New 
York ring, run by men in their early 20s, invested $57,640 and could 
have made $1.2 million if not busted by federal authorities, 
investigators said.

Longstanding designer drugs like Ecstasy and synthetic marijuana are 
still sold, but the growing popularity of a drug commonly known as 
flakka is the latest worry for police. The drug - properly known as 
Alpha-PVP - surged to prominence in the Florida club scene and has 
migrated north.

Federal authorities have made seizures of the drug in the Southern 
Tier, and in May arrested a Livingston County man, 41-year-old Jack 
Jett, who authorities alleged had more than 6 pounds of flakka that 
he had ordered from China.

Flakka can be a physiologically ruthless and highly addictive 
stimulant, heating body temperatures and causing heat stroke and 
heart attacks, said James Wesley, the drug chemistry supervisor at 
the Monroe County Public Safety Laboratory. Users can experience side 
effects known as "excited delirium," which can be fatal.

Wesley likened the effects of flakka to those of methamphetamine. 
Monroe County itself has not seen huge numbers of flakka seizures, 
just as the county is not a hotbed for methamphetamine use, Wesley 
said. But police say that the drug is starting to invade neighboring counties.

One flakka user who lives in the Southern Tier said he was awake for 
21 days straight, said HSI Special Agent Frank Zabawa.

HSI investigators are also partnering with local police to try to 
quickly test drugs that appear to be synthetic. Previously, the drugs 
would have to be sent to a lab and tested to confirm what they were. 
Now, a relatively new handheld device - a Raman scanner - can zap a 
laser beam into a bag of drugs and detect its chemical makeup.

Lawmakers are constantly trying to stay ahead of the manufacturers, 
adding the latest designer drug to the list of illegal substances. 
But a simple chemical change can create a whole new drug, with 
effects that might not be recognized until its use becomes common.

"All you're really changing is a couple of chemicals here and there," 
Brechler said.

And the threat for the user remains the same. "You don't really know 
what you're putting in your body," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom