Wasp dope

Wasp dope refers to the ingestion of common household insecticides as a substitute for more conventional addictive substances that cause euphoria, such as methamphetamine or crack cocaine.[1] Wasp dope is an emerging trend in the southern United States,[2] although there are obscure reports of insecticide abuse dating back to the 1980s.[3]

History

The origin of wasp dope remains unclear, and very little research is available on wasp dope users.[1]

In 1979, at a hearing before the United States House of Representatives, it was reported that there was knowledge about the abuse of Raid wasp killer among American drug users.[4]

A July 2000 report from the Journal of Hand Surgery describes 5 patients in the United States who injected common bug poison. Extreme inflammation and liquefaction necrosis were among the pathologies observed in these cases.[5]

Signs and symptoms

Although household bug sprays are relatively safe when used as intended, the act of huffing, smoking, snorting, drinking, plugging, vaping or injecting bug poison could result in irreversible neurological damage, or even death.[6] Possible symptoms of ingesting bug poison include, but are not limited to: erratic behavior, nausea, headache, sore throat, extreme inflammation, redness of the hands and feet, auditory hallucinations, convulsions, coma, necrosis, and death.[7][8][9]

Methods of ingestion

A case report from Texas describes two different ingestion methods. The patient would spray the insecticide onto a hot surface, which would cause it to crystallize. This purified material would then be inhaled or smoked. It is also said that the crystalline bug poison is dissolved in water, and injected intravenously.[10]

A 1979 hearing before the United States Congress indicated that some American drug users were smoking Raid wasp killer.[4]

Prevalence

Research published in 2020 suggested that 19% of substance abusers in Appalachian Kentucky have ingested wasp dope. The use of wasp dope is strongly associated with homelessness and methamphetamine use in this region.[1]

References
  1. Young, April M.; Livingston, Melvin; Vickers-Smith, Rachel; Cooper, Hannah L.F. (2020). "Emergence of wasp dope in rural Appalachian Kentucky". Addiction. 116 (7): 1901–1907. doi:10.1111/add.15291. PMC 8046840. PMID 33063438.
  2. "People Are Using Heavy Duty Bug Sprays to Get High". ABC Action News.
  3. Gussow, Leon (January 2022). "The Latest High: Wasp Spray Dope". Emergency Medicine News. Lippincott, Williams & Witkins. 44 (1): 10. Retrieved 25 February 2022. "Sporadic similar cases have been reported over the past four decades."
  4. Abuse of Dangerous Licit and Illicit Drugs--psychotropics, Phencyclidine (PCP), and Talwin. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1979. p. 62.
  5. Buchman, Mark T. (2000). "Upper extremity injection of household insecticide: A report of five cases". Original Communications. 25 (4): 764–767. doi:10.1053/jhsu.2000.8643. PMID 10913221.
  6. Beasly, Michael; Temple, Wayne. "Pyrethroid Toxicity and its Management" (PDF). National Poisons Centre.
  7. "Wasp spray used as alternative meth, contributed to three overdoses". WISH-TV.
  8. "People Are Overdosing on Wasp Spray in West Virginia". Livescience.
  9. Bradberry, SM (2005). "Poisoning due to pyrethroids". Toxicological Reviews. 2 (24): 93–106. doi:10.2165/00139709-200524020-00003. PMID 16180929. S2CID 32523158.
  10. Sharma, Pravesh; Manning, Stephen; Baronia, Regina; Mushtaq, Saira (2014). "Pyrethroid as a Substance of Abuse". Case Reports in Psychiatry. 2014: 169294. doi:10.1155/2014/169294. PMC 4241337. PMID 25431720.
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