If there is one thing teenagers are good at, is finding new (and often disgusting or extremely dangerous) ways of getting a buzz. From sniffing markers and huffing glue or aerosols to burying feces in the ground and inhaling the gases, there seems to be no shortage of desperation to get high for some of these kids.
Teens in Indonesia have taken to boiling used feminine hygiene products to create a tea that they then drink. The chemicals used to sterilize the products and the absorbents in them create a feeling of "flying and hallucinations" as described by the teens.
The head of the drug eradication department's local branch of the National Drug Agency was quoted as saying:
"The materials they're using are legal, but they're not being used in a way that's intended, so it ends up being used like a drug," explained Suprinatro, of the BNN. "We need to take steps to educate people that there are materials that aren’t classified as drugs or psychotropics in the eyes of the law, but can still be misused."
“A lot of these kids are smart, and with the internet they can make new variants and concoctions," she said. "This is where the risk factor goes up because they’re only concerned with one substance in a mixture, ignoring the other substances, leaving open the possibility of fatal side effects."
The truly sad part is that most of these kids are anywhere from 13 - 16 years old, and as there are more than a billion of these pads thrown away every month, there doesn't appear to be a shortage of supply or end to this gross practice in sight.
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