From snakebite to lizard puff, drug addicts trying it all for a high

Chandigarh: The young drug addicts of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana have been trying all bizarre and cheap addiction substitutes to get that high. These could be anything ranging from solvent-based glue to a house lizard’s tail or even a sweat-laden frog.

“You won’t detect any house lizard (‘chippkali’) in any professional institute or hostels these days. If you do find one, it will be without its tail. It is a rich source of poor man’s kick,” says a 34-year-old school dropout of Mustafa Jattan village in Gurdaspur.

The tail is detached from the lizard with the help of a steel glass. To make it less poisonous, the tail is half-boiled and kept on a lamp for drying up. Once dried, addicts crush it and fill it in a cigarette.

“Just a puff or two work like an anaesthetic doze for the brain for the next few hours, and that too without any cost,” says Masih, who admitted he too had tried the substance.

“Sniffing of a particular brand of glue available in small tubes and bottles, which is based on solvents, is the latest to catch the fancy of addicts. Many youngsters have even died due to over-sniffing these poisonous solvents,” says Kaustabh Sharma, the Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau.

A white eraser fluid, which is easily available at stationery shops, is also in vogue. A boy from Dinanagar recently died due to its over-doze. De-addiction centres across the state have been receiving a large number of such addicts. The eraser fluid, it is learnt, has been selling on a premium at stationery and other shops in Punjab.

If this was not enough, another popular method among hostellers is to wear their socks for seven to eight days to make these acutely stinking. Afterwards, addicts boil it and drink the stinking concoction for an instant high.

Addicts also make a frog run for some time and lick its sweat, which provides an instant kick.

But the weirdest of all is a controlled snakebite. Addicts from Punjab reportedly visit Chandni Chowk in Delhi to get themselves bitten by a particular species of snake. Each bite costs around Rs 8,000.

“The snake charmers take your blood samples first. If they find you are an old addict and fit to bear the bite impact, only then they administer it to you. With one bite, you can remain high for at least a week. All you have to do after the bite is have excess tea and a bottle of beer daily for the next week or so,” said Masih.

Asked how an unknown addict would find the snake charmer (or ‘charger’, as called by addicts) carrying that particular snake in Chandni Chowk, Masih said their trademark was a red and green shoulder bag with snake images.

Other strange substances popular among the youth are eating pain balm after spreading it on bread, inhaling petrol or sitting in the sun after applying shoe polish on the head.

Weird, wild ways

Controlled snakebite: The practice is prevalent in Chandni Chowk. Each bite of a particular snake costs Rs 8,000. Charmers take blood samples and they administer the snakebite only after finding an addict fit to bear its impact. The impact of one bite remains for a week.

Lizard tail puff: Its tail is detached with the help of a steel glass. To make it less poisonous, the tail is half-boiled and then kept on a lamp. Once dried, addicts crush it and fill it in a cigarette.

Frog sweat: A frog is made to run for some time. Addicts then lick its sweat, which provides an instant kick.

Sniffing glue: Based on solvents, this is the latest product to catch the fancy of youngsters. Many youngsters have even died due to over-sniffing these poisonous solvents.

White eraser fluid: Easily available at stationery shops, it is sniffed for a high. A boy from Dinanagar recently died due to an over-doze.

~ Source: Varinder Singh, The Tribune 6th June ’14