Delhi youth gets hooked on snake venom; doctors stunned

Delhi youth gets hooked on snake venom; doctors stunned

Mangalore Today News Network

Delhi, Jan 08, 2017: This man has a ssserious problem. After alcohol and cannabis stopped providing the required kick, 30-yearold Manoj (name changed) started to get high on snake venom. The resident of Shadipur in west Delhi is now trying to get over his addiction at the prestigious RML Hospital where doctors say his blood has turned toxic and even his spit can be fatal to others.

Gets hooked on snake venom a few months ago

Manoj, who is a drummer by profession, took to drugs in his early teens and got hooked on snake venom a few months ago. "All my friends use opium, ganja, doda (poppy husk) and heroin. I was consuming all kinds of drugs available in the market and when they stopped having any effect on me, I decided to try snake venom. It keeps me high for at least 24-30 hours," Manoj told Mail Today. Peddlers provide the venom in tiny packets, each one priced at about Rs 3,000-Rs 4,000.

Delhi doctors stunned

Dr Smita Deshpande, who heads the department of psychiatry and de-addiction at RML hospital, told Mail Today, "This is for the first time that we have seen a patient here admitted for drug rehabilitation who has confessed to consuming dangerous snake venom to get high. Such cases are very rare and patients too do not easily reveal what kind of drugs they are taking."

Experts say

Experts say certain types of addicts share some personality traits and seem to have been born with high-levels of impulsiveness and thrill-seeking- behaviour that is common in poly-substance users or abusers. Such people occasionally get snakebites or venom for their euphoric effect.

Manoj was brought to the hospital by family members after he started to threaten them for money to get his fix.

"I have only recently started consuming snake venom orally, but some of my friends get snakebites for maximum high," said Manoj. "The serpent bites when it is pressed gently. The bite is administered under the tongue and its effects last for at least one week. This also depends on the species of the snake being used."

However, he did not reveal the source from where he gets the highly expensive drug in the city.

Full- fledged racket is active in city

RML doctors say that procuring snake venom is illegal and it is very expensive, suggesting that a full- fledged racket is active in the city. There have been reports that some snake catchers trade in venom. "If a person consumes any kind of snake venom drug, his blood too becomes toxic. Such a person cannot donate blood to anybody as it can prove fatal to the recipient," said Dr Lokesh Shekhawat, associate professor of psychiatry at RML Hospital.

"Today’s youth is attracted by novel trends. His blood investigations showed high levels of toxicity and the presence of other available drugs. And taking snake venom can be fatal for even an addict, in high dosages."

Person’s spit too can be fatal for others

Health experts say in the initial hours of ingesting snake venom, a person’s spit too can be fatal for others. The addiction can result in slow-poisoning and can kill a person in stages- it could first affect the eyes, and lead to total paralysis.

Snake venom, collected from farmed reptiles, has been used to make antisera for snakebites for decades by injecting it into mammals such as sheep and horses, and collecting the antibodies thus generated.

No diagnostic equipment to quantify level of snake venom in patient’s body

Dr Shekhawat said there is no diagnostic equipment anywhere in the world to quantify the level of snake venom in Manoj’s body.

Cases of people getting hooked on snakebites and venom have been reported in the past from metro cities like Mumbai and Kolkata as well as rural areas.

Dr Shipra Singh, psychiatrist and drug rehabilitation expert at RML hospital, told Mail Today she consulted in six cases reported at Grant Medical College in central Mumbai.

An expert from AIIMS, requesting anonymity, said, "In the past 10 years, I have seen four cases like this and these are very, very rare. As snake venom contains neurotoxins and cardio-toxins, it can always prove fatal to someone who is consuming it. These patients informed me that they used to go to the jungle for a snake bite and they could easily identify the species fit for the purpose.