In the Indonesian provinces of Jakarta and Java, police have begun arresting teens for getting high off of the most unusual substance: water which has been boiled with used sanitary pads.
Getting high off of boiled pad water rose to prominence in Belitung and Java, where reports indicate more and more young people are trying it out. The head of the National Narcotics Agency's Central Java branch reports that the young people boil the pads to extract chemicals, then drink them to achieve drug-like hallucinations.
@ladbible It's just a strange period they are going through— Gary (@Gary) 1542276296.0
Sanitary pads contain sodium polyacrylate, a chemical mean to help absorb liquid which, when ingested, can bring on a certain high. However, according to Dr Hari Nugroho from the Institute of Mental Health Addiction And Neurosience, "drinking this tainted water in large quantities could damage organs like the kidneys and liver."
@ladbible These are the kids of our future... https://t.co/TyOJiC34HD— Kerry Stevenson (@Kerry Stevenson) 1542276724.0
Reports indicate that the children using the sanitary pads to get high lie between the ages of 13 and 16, and are often too poor to afford real drugs like methamphetamines, which often cost "millions of rupiah per gram."
@ladbible https://t.co/BgJGcxgGST— SaiyanPrincessK (@SaiyanPrincessK) 1542281584.0
Twitter was decidedly grossed out by this strange new "drug:"
@ladbible https://t.co/8PAIasPh4M— Azhar Majid (@Azhar Majid) 1542275993.0
@ladbible Ok, I want off this ride. Thats enough for me today— Matt Medved (@Matt Medved) 1542282947.0
@ladbible What happened to just smoking crack like a nomal human being— ⚄ ⚄mR s∆!Иʇ⚄ ⚄ (@⚄ ⚄mR s∆!Иʇ⚄ ⚄) 1542276081.0
Is a high really worth drinking used pad water?
@ladbible https://t.co/13zVzwdkR4— Kyle James Wilson (@Kyle James Wilson) 1542279558.0
Can someone turn off that particle accelerator in Switzerland? This timeline we've been shunted into is getting too… https://t.co/f8Uvprawk0— Tim Richards (@Tim Richards) 1542065962.0
@MuthuiMkenya 😲😲😲 the f***k— SonBen K 🇰🇪 (@SonBen K 🇰🇪) 1542282104.0
Many people's reactions were as much disbelief as disgust.
@DailyMirror https://t.co/I3fef4T6Z8— MothusiMaxwell (@MothusiMaxwell) 1542278069.0
@DailyMirror Ummmmm??????? WHAT?— THE SCOTT SISTERS (@THE SCOTT SISTERS) 1542262389.0
@DailyMirror https://t.co/epa88UogEx— Pete Byrne (@Pete Byrne) 1542267438.0
Don't do drugs, kids. And, I wish I didn't have to say this, but that includes used pads.
H/T - Business Insider, Boing Boing