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Mahesh

05/11/23 13:08 PM IST

Snake Venom - a recreational drug

In News
  • Reality television show Bigg Boss OTT winner and YouTuber Elvish Yadav was booked by the Gautam Buddh Nagar police in a case pertaining to the sale of snake venom at rave parties in the National Capital Region
Snake Venom
  • Snake venom is often used as a recreational drug.
  • Its smuggling is a multi-million dollar illicit industry.
  • In November 2022, the Border Security Force (BSF) in West Bengal’s Dakshin Dinajpur district seized a jar containing 2.14 kg of snake venom, which was valued at Rs 17 crore in the international market.
  • Snake Venom Use as a Substitute for Opioids.
Snake Venom Consumption
  • In the reported cases of snake venom use in India, snakes were deliberately made to bite on the consumer’s feet or tongue, the 2018 research pointed out. Snakes like cobras and Indian kraits were most commonly used for this purpose.
Effect on human Body
  • According to the study, which chronicled a case study of a 33-year-old male consumer with a history of substance abuse,
  • “The snake bite was associated with jerky movements of the body, blurring of vision, and unresponsiveness, i.e. ‘blackout’ as per the patient for 1 h (hour).
  • However, after waking up he experienced a heightened arousal and sense of well-being, which lasted for 3–4 weeks.”
  • Once the effect of the bite wore off, the man began to experience irritation and lethargy and craved drugs.
  • In the reported cases, consumers described the experience of a snake bite to be associated with “happiness, grandiosity, and excessive sleepiness,”.
  • Consumers didn’t report any withdrawal symptoms, however, in some cases, they became more tolerant and started to indulge “in more frequent snake bite trips.
Why Snake venom gives a high ?
  • It may have to do with the neurotoxin nature of snake venom that causes analgesia, or the inability to feel pain.
  • According to the study, forms of a neurotoxin found in cobra venom, particularly, bind on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) that are widely distributed in the human brain area and are involved in the euphoric or rewarding experience.
  • Moreover, once the venom enters human blood, it releases active metabolites like serotonin that have “different psychotropic effects such as hypnotic and sedative”, a 2022 research found.
Source- Indian Express

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