Samuel Beckett once said, “Having coffee without brandy is like taking sex without love.”
This is not just a quote for some people; for them, nothing is good enough without intoxication. Sober is just dull and high is the new cool. But how far, you think, one can go to get high?
Cloud nine is now too low; they aim for cloud 420 maybe! When it comes to getting high, all you could think of is alcohol, weed or perhaps cocaine. However, few people have found the most unimaginable, deadly drugs to intoxicate themselves.
Here’s a list of the weirdest things people trip on, that will make you question their sanity:
Inhalants
Some teenagers sniff household produces such as glue, Freon, aerosol sprays, cleaning fluids, gas from whipped cream cans, and even mothballs for a high which can make them feel drunk.
It is really very addictive. However, the risk that comes along is that inhaling it even once can cause brain damage or death.
These vapours can result in heart failure or clog your lungs so you can’t breathe.
Hand Sanitizers
A large bottle of hand sanitizer contains the same amount of alcohol as 32 vodka shots. Cases have been reported of people taken to ICU in severe conditions, after consuming one whole bottle
Nitrite
A special type of inhalant called nitrites, which is also known as “poppers” or “snappers,” gives a peculiar kind of high.
They can enhance sexual pleasure because of the reason that they dilate a human’s blood vessels.
Like all inhaling drugs, they can result in death or brain damage, even for first-time users. They are also linked to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV and hepatitis. This happens because usually, people who focus on getting high may not practice safe sex.
Alcohol Tampons
Some curious people try to get drunk without drinking alcohol. They soak tampons in vodka, then put them in their vaginas or rectums. There’s no proof that this works. What is more concerning is that the vodka can burn sensitive vaginal or rectal tissue.
In unusual cases, it has also caused colitis.
If teenagers get alcohol poisoning this way, without alcohol in their breath, ER doctors may not know what’s causing the problem, so the treatment might get delayed, and alcohol poisoning can cause death.
Flakka
A new synthetic stimulant that’s gaining popularity in Florida, and causing people to run through the streets naked.
Flakka is the common name for alpha-Pyrrolidinopentiophenone (alpha-PVP). “It actually starts to rewire brain chemistry. They have no control over their thoughts. They can’t control their actions,” says Don Maines, a drug treatment counsellor. People on Flakka also tend to think that someone is chasing them, and there have been reports of users trying to have sex with trees and claiming that they are the mythical god Thor.
Bath Salts
This is a kind of powder which comes in small packets, also called synthetic cathinones, and it isn’t really for putting in the bath.
People or teenagers either swallow, or snort, or inject it.
It can cause a feeling of ecstasy or boost sex drive. But it could also make you feel drunk, get violent, or lose touch with reality. It’s addictive and can cause strong symptoms of withdrawal. Thousands of them visit the ER each year for things like chest pain, a racing heart, panic attacks, and hallucinations after using bath salts — some die.
Dream Fishes
People have now found really innovative ways of intoxicating themselves without even skipping meals. Fishes such as a certain kind of mullet, goatfish, tangs, damsels and rabbitfish are known to be ichthyoallyeinotoxic, which means they are as potent as LSD. In the south of France in 2006, two men were hospitalized after consuming Sarpa Salpa. The fish can produce psychotropic effects if the head is eaten and those men were hallucinating for 36 hours. The scary part is that the high can last days and there is absolutely no antidote for it.
Flashblood
In parts of Africa, desperate heroin users have begun resorting to injecting the blood of others in order to get high. So, one person shoots up, they wait for a few moments and then draw blood from their system and inject into another user.
DMT
Dimethyltryptamine is in many species of plants and is often used in South American shamanistic practices. One common hallucination experience is seeing ‘Machine Elves’, which are otherworldly hallucinations of fractal human beings. DMT hallucinations are known to make people see aliens.
Giraffe Liver
People in Sudan get high on giraffe liver. The liver and bone marrow of giraffes contain Umm Nyolokh, a compound which contains traces of psychoactive compounds.
River Toad
In 2007, a Kansan City man was arrested for possession of a Colorado River Toad. He had been extracting and drying the toad’s venom, which contains bufotenine, which is a hallucinogenic.