Cheap, China-made drug gains following in Florida

Fort Lauderdale, US

AS drugs go, it's dirt cheap, potent and deadly. And it creates surreal, pitiful scenes like this: a man running down the street buck naked, fleeing from imaginary dogs. This addictive synthetic drug known on the streets as "flakka", or gravel, has killed dozens of people in Florida, and its popularity is spreading fast. Particularly hard hit is Broward County, a touristy area of south Florida, just north of Miami.

"Broward is much like ground zero for flakka or Alpha-PVP," said Heather Clark of United Way, a charity that is trying to raise awareness of the dangers of the drug. People generally smoke it, but it can also be injected intravenously or "vaped" - inhaled in vapour form.