A hazardous drug that eliminates free will and can wipe the memory of its victims is currently being dealt on the streets of Colombia.
The drug is called scopolamine, but is colloquially known as ‘The Devil’s Breath,’ and is derived from a particular type of tree common to South America.
Stories surrounding the drug are the stuff of urban legends, with some telling horror stories of how people were raped, forced to empty their bank accounts, and even coerced into giving up an organ.
Danger: ‘The Devil’s Breath’ is such a powerful drug that it can remove the capacity for free will
VICE‘s Ryan Duffy travelled to the country to find out more about the powerful drug. In two segments, he revealed the shocking culture of another Colombian drug world, interviewing those who deal the drug and those who have fallen victim to it.
Demencia Black, a drug dealer in the capital of Bogota, said the drug is frightening for the simplicity in which it can be administered.
He told Vice that Scopolamine can be blown in the face of a passer-by on the street, and within minutes, that person is under the drug’s effect – scopolamine is odourless and tasteless.
‘You can guide them wherever you want,’ he explained. ‘It’s like they’re a child.’
Black said that one gram of Scopolamine is similar to a gram of cocaine, but later called it ‘worse than anthrax.’
In high doses, it is lethal.
It only takes a moment: One drug dealer in Bogota explained how victims are drugged within minutes of exposure
Victims: One Colombian woman said that under the influence of scopolamine, she led a man to her house and helped him ransack it
The drug, he said, turns people into complete zombies and blocks memories from forming. So even after the drug wears off, victims have no recollection as to what happened.
One victim told Vice that a man approached her on the street asking her for directions. Since it was close by, she helped take the man to his destination, and they drank juice together.
‘You can guide them wherever you want. It’s like they’re a child.’
