Recreational Drugs

The recreational drugs of Alksheist, many of which are legal in most countries, unless otherwise specified.

Chak
Chak is the plant that chak, Alksheian cocaine, comes from. It grows in the tropical areas of the world, often in the crooks of much taller trees. The plant itself is a vine with spearhead-shaped, waxy dark green leaves. The largest plants have leaves that are over two feet long and over three feet wide at the base, where the leaves stem from a thick “trunk” of sorts that grows about a foot out of the ground. The average mature chak plant is about six inches tall with leaves around a foot long and eighteen inches wide. The wax on the leaves is poisonous to most animals, humanoids included. It is a deadly neurotoxin that induces hallucinations while paralyzing the body. Boiling the leaves of the plant is how the powdery drug is made. It softens the leaves and burns off the wax, allowing the veins to be cut open and the milky substance to be "juiced" out of the leaves. After evaporating excess water from the leaf substance, it turns into powder which is distributed to nations around the world.

Chak is illegal in every country except Alluum. Small factories in Xidwin and Altshof grow and manufacture the drug, but users prefer the product that is exported out of Copun and Lexelle. Local drug lords grow the plants high in the canopy of the rainforest; since chak grows as a vine, destroying a chak farm in the canopy is close to impossible and the local authorities often do not bother.

Like Earth's cocaine, chak does have negative side-effects. It is an amphetamine, and it is easy to overdose on. A chak overdose overworks the heart, causes hypertension and eventually bursts the veins. Chak is addictive, and addicts have a hard time coming off of it. Chak withdrawal is highly psychological and involves hallucinations, paranoia and depression. It is not as addictive as Earth's cocaine, though; only about forty percent of users get addicted to the drug. It takes regular, heavy daily use to become a chak addict.

Besides the drug, the chak plant has other uses. It is used in the manufacture of sour candy powder, an alcohol known as kthuzhar (it's similar to rum), and it also has many medical uses. The wax on the leaves can be used in microscopic doses to help treat infections and heal wounds. The leaf itself, when devoid of wax, is useful in treating diabetes, cirrhosis and is also used to help boost the immune system when there is an illness or infection. It is a common ingredient in many antibiotics and antivirals, and also a part of live vaccinations. Chak is used in its pure "drug" form to boost heart rate and cognitive function (usually to help bring someone out of a medically-induced coma), but only in carefully-administered IV doses.

Elrot
This is a human-made drug that many drug addicts have taken to using. It is an intravenous drug that is greenish in color, similar in composition to Earth's chemical drugs that are made to mimic marijuana. Once elrot is injected, it comes to work within three to five minutes. The user will experience a mild euphoria, but at higher doses, it can induce hallucinations, panic and paralysis. Elrot is incredibly addictive, easy to overdose on, and accounts for almost as many deaths a year as heroin. It is illegal for recreational use in every country in Alksheist.

It was first made in a laboratory in the Modern Era, originally made to be a dental sedative. It is still used as a local anesthetic in people who are allergic to other options, which is why there is still a medical supply, but most elrot on the streets are made in labs ran by drug lords in megacities around Alksheist.

Ifuru
Ifuru is a purple flower similar to lavender in appearance. It grows to be around three feet tall, and it is an annual plant that grows during the summer months. It grows in highlands around Alksheist, but the most prominent place to find it is in the Sidway mountain range in Alluum. Ifuru farms smell strongly of the plant, which lets off a basil-like odor.

Ifuru is the Alksheist version of tobacco. Unlike tobacco, it doesn't cause lung cancer and actually has some beneficial side-effects, like helping to lower blood pressure and reducing the possibility of heart disease. Ifuru is grown and manufactured by the ifuru monopoly company, Drioks, which packages ifuru cigarettes in pyramid-shaped boxes that are lilac-colored.

Ifuru is also used in dentistry. The chemical that gives it its basil scent is extracted from the plant and used in local anesthetics, root canal procedures and even for cavity fillings.

The Kiss of Death
Otherwise called "Demon Maker" and "Hell's Embrace," the Kiss is a surprisingly popular drug for what it does. Harvested from a rare species of biting insect found in hot climates like Oudnavi's desert, this drug is little more than the neurotoxin the insect paralyzes its prey with pain.

The effect of this drug is painful chemical stimulation of the nerves, so painful in fact that there are many rumors that using this drug can actually create demons. One intrepid reporter described the sensation as "being ripped apart over and over again, unable to move or scream, locked in a prison of pain from whence you don't think you'll return until you do."

Many find this drug to have side effects of muscle spasms for days afterwards and complete sensory overload at any slight touch. Many people find this drug absurd, but there are those who would be happy to assure you that sometimes you just need to experience the pain of death. Most people who use this drug feel an incredible rush of euphoria on coming out of the haze of pain, a combination of chemical signals and the feeling of "I didn't die thank the gods."

The Kiss is legal nearly everywhere in the world, as most governments don't find the use of it to be so rampant that it is a problem.

Nadol
Nadol is a red grass that grows in Vahk'antarr. It grows to be about a foot tall, and grows large spore cases at the top of each stalk. These spore casings are used in a variety of medicines, for help in curing eye and stomach ailments to also being considered a possible cure for a particularly nasty STD (isiosis). The spore casings are also used as a recreational drug. On the street, they're known as "nad hips" or just as nadol.'''

Nadol is most often smoked, and it brings on an intense high similar to Earth's psilocybin mushrooms. In small doses, it causes relaxation and mild synesthesia; in higher doses, it induces hallucinations. More often than not, users report that the hallucinations cause them to be nauseous because of how vibrant the colors are, and that they are generally "okay" trips -- "bad" and "good" parts of the trip change depending on mood. It is not addictive and has no negative side-effects, other than weakening the immune system somewhat when used on a regular basis.

Because of its limited location, it is quite an expensive drug to obtain. Mages who are skilled in earth magic and need extra money flock to nadol; it's legal, and it fetches a good price. It is difficult to grow, since it requires very exact amounts of sunlight, rain and humidity, but many growers report that once they get the rhythm down, the plants aren't too difficult to take care of. There are some strands of plants that are more hallucinogenic than others; and other plants that have less of the hallucinogen in them. Regardless of strand, nadol fetches about the same price across the board per ounce.

Tatian Lovelove Flower
A native Tatian pitcher plant, the name is deceptive as this plant does not produce flowers. Rather, it bears two to five deep pitchers (two to four feet in depth) with openings vaguely shaped like hearts, and grows on trees in areas with moderate to severe rainfall. Despite being native to Tatu, the Lovelove flower is also found in abundance on Lexelle. When the pitcher catches insects, the plant curls in on itself, trapping the insect within the plant where it will slowly dissolve in its acids.

This is not the reason for the peculiar moniker of "lovelove" (a nickname given by foreigners to this plant; in actuality, it is named kokklorkrimmi). The Lovelove plant is psychotropic. The leaves are ground into powder and smoked in a roll, typically created from an unground leaf for full effect. This has been known to induce hallucinations. The lovelove is particularly popular because its chemical makeup boosts serotonin levels in the brain–a "bad trip" is unusual when smoking lovelove.

The powder can also be mixed into a paste and applied to sores and burns. The chemicals can seep through the skin and produce a low level high that alleviates pain.

A less prominent use, though no less talked about, is as an aphrodisiac. Lovelove paste, applied to the body in large quantities, is believed to raise libido and increase gratification.

Kokklorkrimmi has religious significance to many tatian fairy tribes. Some tribes drink the soupy acid of the pitcher; this is said to give powerful visions.