Police and prosecutors are keeping a wary eye on Indiana's southern border for the latest variation on synthetic drugs.
Alpha-PVP, more commonly known as Flakka or gravel, has made its biggest impact in Florida, where it's been blamed for 29 deaths in the Fort Lauderdale area. It's been spotted in at least 10 other states, including Illinois and Ohio. There was also widespread use in rural Kentucky, about 100 miles from Lawrenceburg.
State Sen. Jim Merritt (R-Indianapolis) authored Indiana's ban on synthetic drugs like Spice and bath salts. He says accounts of Flakka suggest it's more dangerous than those drugs.
Its effects are more powerful -- police say it says it causes paranoia, hallucinations, and hopped-up behavior similar to that associated with PCP.
And the drug raises an additional problem in Indiana: it's too new for the formula to be covered by Indiana's drug law. Merritt says he'll move to correct that.
The synthetic drug ban's constitutionality is already under review by the Indiana Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments last month on whether it's too difficult to determine which compounds are illegal.
Merritt says regardless of how the court rules, he'll reintroduce a bill to make the law clearer.
“We will follow up and have as much information on the Board of Pharmacy website as possible so that everybody knows and it’s clear what is against the law and what is not,” Merritt says.
