After hearing the name ‘Devil’s Breath’, what comes to your mind first? Some sort of horror story, right? Yes, I will say it’s a horror story. Said to be the scariest drug in the world, Devil’s Breath, also known as Scopolamine, can incapacitate people and victimize them of theft, robbery, rape, and many other innumerable crimes.
This may sound unbelievable but after one takes the drug devil’s breath, one loses control of oneself and loses the free will to do anything. Then, he or she goes under the control of the attacker or the criminal and does whatever the criminal asks for from giving all the money to murdering someone. Yes, you heard that right. It’s really horrible to say but a human becomes a slave of that person and does whatever that person asks for. It’s more like a robot state where the attacker takes over the control of the victim’s brain and commands it according to his or her will.
According to specialists, after someone breathes in scopolamine, the person loses the power to decide and does whatever the person to the front says. High dosages of it can make one unconscious for 24 hours or more. It can also cause fast heart rates, confusion, vivid hallucinations, blurry visions, seizures or comas, etc. Amnesia also can occur if orally consumed through foods or drinks. Also, it can cause respiratory failure, or the worst can be death.
Criminals can victimize people by mixing the drug with anyone’s food or drinks, soaking the drug into business cards or address-written papers and handing it over to them asking for the location, or just blowing them in front of someone’s nose. There had been numerous reports of scopolamine incidents in Colombia, Paris, Ecuador, Hong Kong, and many other places. In Colombia, its use is the most widespread as unofficial estimates roughly 50,000 events take place in a year in that place. So, people must be aware of the incidents of how criminals are executing their crimes using this drug.
‘Borrachero’ is the name of the plant from which the chemical scopolamine is extracted. It is also a common plant in the south American country of Colombia. Probably that is the reason it is very widespread in that country. Extracted from its flowers and after going through some process, scopolamine is produced. The plant is also known as ‘Brugmansia’ scientifically. The drug is a powder form that is white in color and looks very similar to cocaine. It is also available in prescription form. It is used to treat motion sickness, and postoperative nausea and vomiting. Also, it is used to decrease saliva before surgery. Now, it is been widespread in different parts of the world to do different crimes.
An interesting fact is that it has been used by the native South Americans in spiritual rituals for hundreds of years. It is said that it leads to hallucinations, frightening images, and a lack of free will. The after-effects of the drug are so strong that it also had been used by governments of different countries to bring out the truth from criminals. However, that was largely discontinued due to the negative effects after the Czechoslovak government recently used it in 2008. So, we can see that it is also used in the past in the way it is being used in recent days but with a different purpose.
Although it has good ways to use for treatment purposes, its bad uses are terrible and horrifying in recent days. Now, these incidents are heard unoften. Probably its abuse is lessened but still, there are incidents happening. In Bangladesh also, these are happening even in the daylight. So, people should be aware and alert of the ways criminals approach random passers-by. The best way to avoid these is putting on a face mask as criminals don’t approach people wearing masks according to reports.
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Writer
Abdullah Al Noman Khan
Content Writing Intern
YSSE