Police are finding more of the new designer drug flakka in Broward County than anywhere else in the nation, records obtained by the Sun Sentinel show.
Crime labs analyzed 477 cases of flakka confiscated in Broward in 2014, according to statistics from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. No other county came close, with Chicago's Cook County clocking in next with 212 cases.
When adjusted for population, Broward's rate of flakka cases outpaced all major urban counties. With a population of 1.8 million, Broward had a rate of 27 cases per 100,000 residents.
Experts puzzle over why Broward County has emerged as an epicenter for flakka, a volatile and unpredictable synthetic stimulant chemically known as alpha-PVP.