Reports have it that people in some parts of South Asia, particularly Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, are smoking scorpions to achieve a euphoric high.
According to Lauren Vogelbaum’s reports, for a small fee of 70 to 200 rupees (equivalent to $1 to $3), dealers offer scorpions for their venomous effects. The methods vary, from enduring a scorpion sting directly to inhaling its smoke by burning it alive. Some mix scorpion venom with hashish and tobacco, either rolling it into a joint or smoking it through a pipe.
The euphoria it incites, they said, could last for a period of ten hours to three days, making it a top choice among its users, coupled with the fact that it is a cheap high that reportedly surpasses that of heroin.
However, this intoxicating euphoria comes at a steep cost; users endure unbearable pain for the initial six hours as their bodies try to adjust to the toxic onslaught.
Furthermore, the long-term consequences are dire, ranging from memory loss and eating and sleeping disorders to hallucinations and even death, almost mirroring the Kush drug of Sierra Leone.
On the southeast coast of West Africa lies Sierra Leone, grappling with Kush, a zombie state-like high made by mixing dried ground-down human bones as a key ingredient with a cocktail of other ingredients. The need to stay high on this drug has resulted in the desecration of over a thousand graves as the drug swept through the country’s capital.
While there are no concrete statistics on the prevalence of smoking scorpions in South Asia, experts in narcotics have confirmed its alarming frequency.
Read more: Top 10 Largest Banks by Market Capitalisation Revealed
About The Author
