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BrainStuff: Is Inhaling Scorpion Venom a Path to Euphoria? Carousel image: Bartosz Burzyk/EyeEm/Getty Images; Video: MytourWhat activities do you enjoy for fun? Watching films? Hitting the gym? Sharing a glass of wine with friends? Whatever your preferred pastime, it’s safe to assume it doesn’t involve enduring a scorpion sting.
However, this isn’t the case for a subset of individuals who use scorpions as a form of intoxication. In regions of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, some are resorting to scorpions to achieve a painful high. As Lauren Vogelbaum details in the accompanying BrainStuff video, there’s no concrete data on how widespread this practice is, but narcotics specialists confirm it’s not uncommon.
For a fee ranging from 70 to 200 rupees, or $1 to $3 USD, a dealer will place a scorpion on a person’s hand and agitate it with a stick until it delivers venom through its tail. Some choose to smoke the scorpion, burning it alive over hot coals while inhaling the toxic fumes. Others dry a deceased scorpion in the sun, blend its remains with hashish and tobacco, and either roll it into a cigarette or pack it into a small pipe.
Why endure such extremes? Primarily, scorpions offer a low-cost high that can persist for 10 hours to three days. The experience is reportedly so intense that it surpasses heroin, delivering a euphoric, weightless sensation while keeping the user fully conscious. However, the initial six hours are marked by excruciating pain as the body adapts to the toxins. Additionally, risks include short- and long-term memory loss, sleep and appetite disturbances, persistent delusions, or even death.
The venom of various scorpion species affects users differently, causing symptoms from hallucinations to headaches. However, regulating the venom's dosage is nearly impossible due to its variability between creatures. This venom is a complex mix of toxic proteins and peptides designed to disrupt bodily functions. While paralyzing prey's nervous systems aids scorpions in hunting, it poses severe risks for humans, including tissue damage, blood clotting issues, or uncontrolled bleeding.
Beyond recreational use, scorpions may hold significant medical potential. Researchers believe scorpion venom could unlock groundbreaking treatments. Traditional Chinese medicine has utilized scorpion venom for pain relief for centuries. Modern painkillers derived from scorpion venom could offer alternatives to addictive opioids like oxycodone.
Scorpion venom has been explored as a potential weapon against high-grade gliomas, an aggressive brain cancer. The venom of the Deathstalker, a yellow Israeli scorpion, contains proteins that specifically bind to glioma cells. By synthesizing these proteins, scientists aim to destroy cancer cells, inhibit their growth, or use infrared dyes to help surgeons locate and remove tumors.
Impressive potential for a creature often met with fear, wouldn’t you say?
While scorpion stings can be painful, they are rarely lethal to humans. Out of the 1,500 known scorpion species, only around 25 possess venom that is potentially deadly. Even then, their stings typically aren’t fatal to healthy adults. Instead, the neurotoxin triggers convulsions and other adverse effects.
