In more recent articles about it it seems to be a variation of alpha-PVP (flakka), something called alpha-PHP that is outside of any schedule for drugs. Basically a designer cathinone that is (or was) still legal.

He wasn't totally certain exactly what he'd made, afaik; his neighbor troubles coincided with efforts to get a real chemist to assist him in identifying what he was producing and stabilizing his method.

I smoked alpha pvp in a transit home in Saint Petersburg with some Georgian immigrants thinking it was meth, It made me really really high, and I spent the whole next day crying. I suspect this is a pretty popular drug in Russia.

Unfortunately, yes. I lost friend to it ("alpha"). He is technically alive, but with completely ruined physics. I've thought, that only opiates could be so destructive, oh, man, I was wrong :-(

I suspect all of the drugs are pretty popular in Russia.

The most popular drug in Russia is still alcohol.

Nah. Half of all drugs sold on Hudra are mephedrone and alpha-pvp; even weed doesn't compare.

Don't do PHP, folks.