News excerpt:

Recently a YouTuber and a winner of a popular reality show got arrested by police in a case pertaining to the sale of snake venom at rave parties in the National Capital Region.

Consumption and its effect on Human Body: 

• In the reported cases of snake venom use in India, snakes were deliberately made to bite on the consumer’s feet or tongue, as the 2018 research pointed out. 
• Snakes like cobras and Indian kraits were most commonly used for this purpose. According to the study, which chronicled a case study of a 33-year-old male consumer with a history of substance abuse, “the snake bite was associated with jerky movements of the body, blurring of vision, and unresponsiveness, i.e., ‘blackout’ as per the patient for 1 hour.
• However, after waking up, he experienced a heightened arousal and sense of well-being, which lasted for 3–4 weeks.” Once the effect of the bite wore off, the man began to experience irritation and lethargy and craved drugs.
• In the reported cases, consumers described the experience of a snake bite as being associated with “happiness, grandiosity, and excessive sleepiness,” the research said. 
• Consumers didn’t report any withdrawal symptoms; however, in some cases, they became more tolerant and started to indulge “in more frequent snake bite trips.”

Why it gives Psychotropic effects: 

• It may have to do with the neurotoxin nature of snake venom that causes analgesia or the inability to feel pain.
• According to the study, forms of a neurotoxin found in cobra venom, particularly, bind on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) that are widely distributed in the human brain area and are involved in the euphoric or rewarding experience.
• Moreover, once the venom enters human blood, it releases active metabolites like serotonin that have “different psychotropic effects such as hypnotic and sedative”, a 2022 research found. 
• The 2018 study said the reported cases didn’t witness any fatality as the consumers took too little venom. However, it isn’t well known what quality of venom can be fatal for humans. Therefore, experts suggest that recreational use of snake venom can lead to not only addiction but also death.

Market of Snake Venom: 

• The "Snake Antivenom Market" research report 2023 provides a thorough and in-depth study of the industry's segmentation based on types, applications, and regions. The global snake antivenom market was valued at USD 2405.0 million in 2022 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.46% during the forecast period, reaching USD 3500.73 million by 2028.
• Snake antivenom is a medication made up of antibodies used to treat snake bites by venomous snakes. Snake venom is often used as a recreational drug. 
• Smuggling is a multi-million-dollar illicit industry, media reports suggest. In November 2022, the Border Security Force (BSF) in West Bengal’s Dakshin Dinajpur district seized a jar containing 2.14 kg of snake venom, which was valued at Rs 17 crore in the international market.
• However, not enough scientific studies have been done on the recreational use of snake venom, according to a 2018 study, ‘Snake Venom Use as a Substitute for Opioids: A Case Report and Review of Literature’, published in the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine.