Crazy Drug Trends: Facts vs. Fiction

Via www.modernwomandigest.com

Addicts and alcoholics are often referred to as some of the most creative and talented individuals on earth. We even develop skills in active addiction subconsciously that exceed those of ‘normies’ to adapt to our life-styles. Not always do we use these powers for good. Lately there have been some seriously stupid ideas for getting high in the news. Now it has been shown some of these were purely speculations and never proven, and a few were exaggerated in the media as part of a spree of ‘crazy drug trend’ stories. The question is, how many of these stories actually have sparked some curiosity and become fact? For now we will simply label them as they have been proven. Brace yourselves, it’s about to get weird.

1. Jenkem- FICTION

Based on an internet hoax, the media started reporting that American teenagers were doing a new drug called “jenkem:” fermented human sewage, scraped from pipes and stored in plastic bags for a week or so, until it gives off numbing, intoxicating fumes, according to author Emma Guest. The idea supposedly originated in Zambia and reported on in many books about Africa and in articles by the BBC in the early ’90s. Jenkem resurfaced in 2007 when someone on a message board claimed to be making and selling it in Florida. So Florida all locals, this one may not be fact…. YET.

2. iDose- FICTION

It sounds like something strait out of a comic book, but it was supposedly real. In 2010, tech blogs started reporting on kids getting high using mp3s that induce feelings of ecstasy. It’s said to use 2-tone technology through headphones to create the high, and was dubbed “iDose” by the News channel 9 in Oklahoma City, OK. There is some scientific truth to the effects of mood and relaxation, but claims that using certain frequencies to get a ‘high’ are quite false. The story is kids were apparently logging into certain sites and getting hooked up with free “doses” of audio files with names like “Gates of Hades.” Not sure about the withdrawals, but if you need to detox I think there’s an app for that.

3. Vodka Tampons- FACT

This particular viral news story focusing on alleged teenage girls soaking in tampons in vodka to get drunk. Now if I know anything about teenage girls, it’s this- they’re terrifying- but I’m not sure this one is legit. But supposedly, this not-so-tasteful trend has documented cases as proof. Teens think it’ll get the alcohol to their blood stream faster without having to go through the barrier of stomach acid, and without alcohol on their breath so parents won’t find out, all this reminds us of the next trend (#4).

4. Eyeballing- FACT

Afraid to be caught with the smell of alcohol on their breath, many kids have taken up the vodka eyeballing trend. Instead of throwing back a shot, teens hold the bottle to their eye and pour the liquid directly into the eye, which is laden with blood vessels.  Because most vodkas are between 40 and 50 percent alcohol, it can scar and burn the cornea, and even cause blindness.

5. Nutmeg- FACT

I know you got some! It’s probably stashed in your kitchen right now. High doses of nutmeg can actually cause vivid hallucinations, bringing many people wanting a legal alternative to the more infamous hallucinogens. Some are just hard out for money, but if your throw back massive doses of a kitchen spice you are in for it. These trips are typically described as unpleasant and closely resemble psychotic detachment from reality. Accompanying the high is severe anxiety, and a sense of impending doom.
The physical effects are also pretty harsh with rapid heart rate and palpitations, dry mouth, nausea and urinary retention all being reported. So stay out of the pantry for a few days.

6. Smoking Bed Bugs- FICTION

This is one random and disgustingly stupid trend that came out of nowhere and had the media all over the place- but ended up being an elaborate hoax. Catching and smoking bed bugs is not the average users ideal afternoon, but with all the madness of active addiction how can you tell what is too crazy? The sad part about this is, after all the hype it got, it probably did have a few people giving it a shot. Those people definitely need some treatment, or maybe just adult supervision.

7. AWOL- FACT

“AWOL” is an acronym for “alcohol without liquid”. It’s the brand name for a device popularized back in 2004 for getting you drunk without the drinking part. Now banned in many countries around the world and in many states in America, an AWOL nebulizer makes it so you are literally smoking the ethanol gases in booze and excluding all the non-alcoholic ingredients. Other than the quicker rate of alcohol poisoning, this method of getting high prevents your body from vomiting, which is the quickest way to get rid of the alcohol that’s making you ill.

8. Bananadine- FICTION

This is a throw-back. It was a fictional substance which supposedly could be extracted from banana peels and smoked to get high. The hoax recipe for its “extraction” from banana peel was originally published back in March 1967. It became more widely known when William Powel who believed was true, reproduced the method in 1970 in The Anarchist Cookbook under the name “Musa sapientum Bananadine”. Researchers at New York University have found that banana peel contains no intoxicating chemicals.

9. Krokodil- FACT

In Russia heroin addicts who can’t afford the real thing have invented an easier and much more stupid method to get high. The chemical reactions with over the counter painkillers and other easily available chemicals can create a drug called desomorphine that has similar effects to heroin. It makes a brown gunk called Krokodil- named for its tendency to turn the skin of users scaly and reptilian as the toxic by-products eat away at the flesh. This is definitely not the ideal relapse drug. How many times will a random drug show signs of the zombie apocalypse?

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