With the rise in addiction rates across the country, it’s no surprise that people are abusing new drugs in new ways. Opioids and benzodiazepines aren’t the only classes of drugs that are gaining traction with people struggling with addiction. Some people crave the highs and strange effects that taking large doses of medications may bring. Hallucinations are just one of the peculiar Scopolamine side effects that people experience when taking the drug.
If you or someone you love is struggling with substance abuse, the drug rehab program at Northpoint Recovery can help. We know how important it is to receive compassionate, supportive treatment when laying the foundation for a sober future. From detox to inpatient rehab, our medical professionals and recovery specialists stay by your side while drugs and alcohol leave your system and you begin to learn the causes of your addiction. Don’t wait to take the steps toward a healthier future. Get started today by calling 208.486.0130.
What Is Scopolamine?
Scopolamine is a medication that’s used to treat motion sickness and nausea. It’s also known as “the Devil’s Breath” because it can cause people to become confused, agitated, and even psychotic. People who abuse Scopolamine may do so for its hallucinogenic effects.
What Are Hallucinogenic Effects?
Hallucinogenic effects are changes in perception, mood, and thinking. They can cause people to see, hear, or feel things that aren’t really there. Scopolamine abuse can lead to visual and auditory hallucinations. It can also cause people to become paranoid and agitated.
Hallucinations often occur when people abuse Scopolamine in large doses. However, they can also occur in smaller doses. People who are addicted to Scopolamine may continue to use it despite the hallucinations and other negative effects.
How Is Scopolamine Abused?
Scopolamine is typically abused by snorting, smoking, or injecting it. It can also be taken orally. People who abuse Scopolamine often take it with other drugs, such as alcohol or cocaine. This can increase the risk of negative effects, including overdose.
Side Effects of Scopolamine Abuse
Scopolamine abuse can cause several long-term side effects, including:
- Confusion
- Agitation
- Psychosis
- Memory loss
- Hallucinations
- Delirium
- Seizures
- Kidney damage
Scopolamine abuse can also lead to death. Overdosing on Scopolamine is very dangerous and can cause respiratory failure, coma, and even death.
Overdosing on Scopolamine
If you or someone you know has overdosed on Scopolamine, it’s important to seek medical help immediately. Symptoms of a Scopolamine overdose include:
- Dilated pupils
- Dry mouth
- Blurred vision
- Confusion
- Agitation
- Hallucinations
- Delirium
- Paranoia
- Seizures
- Respiratory failure
- Coma
- Death
If you think someone has overdosed on Scopolamine, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room immediately.
Breaking the Scopolamine Addiction
If you or someone you love is addicted to Scopolamine, there is help available. Treatment for Scopolamine addiction typically begins with detoxification. Detox is a process of ridding the body of the drug. It can be done in an inpatient or outpatient setting.
After detox, people usually participate in counseling and therapy. This process can help them understand why they abused Scopolamine and how to avoid doing so in the future. Treatment can last for 30 days, 60 days, or longer.
If you’re struggling with a Scopolamine addiction, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. There are many treatment options available that can help you recover.
Scopolamine Addiction Treatment at Northpoint Recovery
If you or someone you love is addicted to Scopolamine, Northpoint Recovery can help. We offer a variety of treatment options, including detoxification, counseling, and therapy. Our goal is to help people overcome their addiction and live a healthy, happy life. Contact us today by calling 208.486.0130 to learn more about our Scopolamine addiction treatment program.
FAQs
Does scopolamine make you lose your free will? ›
That's because scopolamine provides a potent weapon to Colombian criminals. The drug puts people into a zombie-like state in which they lose both their memory and free will and can be convinced to empty their bank accounts or hand over the keys to their apartments and cars.
What does the devil's breath drug do? ›Devil's Breath, also known as scopolamine or hyoscine, is a tropane alkaloid that's used to treat various medical issues like nausea, vomiting, motion sickness, and even muscle spasms.
Does scopolamine patch have to go behind ear? ›Adults—Apply one patch behind the ear at least 4 hours before the effect is needed, for up to 3 days. Children—Use is not recommended.
How does scopolamine make you feel? ›This medicine may cause drowsiness, dizziness, confusion, or trouble seeing clearly. Do not drive or do anything else that could be dangerous until you know how this medicine affects you. If you plan to participate in underwater sports, you may feel lost or confused (disoriented).
How quickly does scopolamine work? ›Scopolamine (Transderm Scop) takes 4 hours to really start absorbing into the body, and about 6 to 8 hours to work well. This is why you want to put it on at least 4 hours before doing any activity that can cause motion sickness, such as a car or boat ride.
How long does a scopolamine trip last? ›The pharmacological half-life of scopolamine in the body is about 9 hours, but the sensitized effects in the vestibular nuclei center can last for days to weeks.
Can I buy scopolamine over the counter? ›Scopolamine belongs to the group of medicines called anticholinergics. It works on the central nervous system (CNS) to create a calming effect on the muscles in the stomach and bowels (gut). This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription.
Can scopolamine make you feel high? ›Scopolamine is a medication that's used to treat motion sickness and nausea. It's also known as “the Devil's Breath” because it can cause people to become confused, agitated, and even psychotic. People who abuse Scopolamine may do so for its hallucinogenic effects.
Can you overdose on Devil's Breath? ›Side effects like dry mouth, blurred vision, headache, urinary retention, and dizziness can occur even at the low dose used in the transdermal patch. Overdoses can lead to a dangerous fast heart rate, dilated pupils, toxic psychosis, confusion, vivid hallucinations, seizures or coma, among other events.
Does it matter where you place a scopolamine patch? ›Scopolamine comes as a patch to be placed on the hairless skin behind your ear. When used to help prevent nausea and vomiting caused by motion sickness, apply the patch at least 4 hours before its effects will be needed and leave in place for up to 3 days.
Can you touch a scopolamine patch? ›
Although scopolamine is rarely intentionally applied directly to the eye, accidental contamination can occur after touching or handling a transdermal scopolamine patch, worn behind the ear to prevent motion sickness, and then rubbing one's eyes or handling contact lenses.
Can you use two scopolamine patches at once? ›Double-dose transdermal scopolamine may improve treatment in patients who fail to respond to a single patch by increasing the plasma scopolamine concentration, without aggravating systemic, visual, or cognitive adverse effects. Thus we recommend that a double dose can be administered safely to these patients.
Does scopolamine make you tell the truth? ›When he administered scopolamine, a popular obstetric anaesthetic drug, his patients would fall into “twilight sleep,” a state in which they would automatically deliver information. After numerous experiments Dr. House concluded that he could easily force the truth from his patients through the use of scopolamine.
How much scopolamine is too much? ›According to some reports, a dose of 50 mg Scopolamine is lethal if administered through the oral route. Overdose of Scopolamine may cause loss of consciousness, severe drowsiness, or seizures. You should immediately report to a physician if these symptoms are present.
What does scopolamine do to the brain? ›Scopolamine prevents communication between the nerves of the vestibule and the vomiting center in the brain by blocking the action of acetylcholine. Scopolamine also may work directly on the vomiting center. Scopolamine must be taken before the onset of motion sickness to be effective.
Is scopolamine stronger than Dramamine? ›One isn't necessarily better than the other. Scopolamine patches are as effective as Dramamine at preventing motion sickness. And in general, both scopolamine and Dramamine are well-tolerated. Dry mouth, drowsiness, and blurry vision are common side effects.
Does scopolamine help you sleep? ›Scopolamine inhibited rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and prolonged REM latency equally in depressed patients and the normal comparison group. Partial tolerance to the REM inhibiting effect of scopolamine developed between the first and third night of treatment. A REM rebound occurred during recovery nights.
What does scopolamine do to the heart? ›Conclusions: Low dose transdermal scopolamine safely increases cardiac parasympathetic activity and short-term heart rate variability after acute myocardial infarction.
How sedating is scopolamine? ›It is a quaternary derivative of hyoscine, so it does not readily cross the blood-brain barrier; therefore, sedation is not normally experienced, although it might cause dry mouth and skin rash, but these are uncommon.
Does scopolamine make you hallucinate? ›Some changes that have occurred in people receiving this medicine are like those seen in people who drink too much alcohol. Other changes may be confusion, delusions, hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there), and unusual excitement, nervousness, or irritability.
How long does scopolamine patch stay in your system after removal? ›
In the case of scopolamine, this happens roughly 9 hours after the patch is removed. However, the body can continue to feel the drug's effects for days, or even weeks, after the patch is removed.
What is the street name for scopolamine? ›Its street name is Devil's Breath or Scopolamine and its scientific name is Hyoscine. Quite aptly named, Devil's Breath is the scariest drug I have ever heard of.
How much is scopolamine worth? ›The cost for scopolamine transdermal film, extended release (1 mg/72 hr) is around $31 for a supply of 4 films, depending on the pharmacy you visit. Quoted prices are for cash-paying customers and are not valid with insurance plans.
How can I buy scopolamine? ›This medication requires a prescription.
To process your order we will require a prescription from you or your Prescriber. We will only compound and dispense upon receipt of a valid patient specific prescription.
Scopolamine (hyoscine) is a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist that has traditionally been used to treat motion sickness in humans. However, studies investigating depressed and bipolar populations have found that scopolamine is also effective at reducing depression and anxiety symptoms.
Does scopolamine cause brain damage? ›Regarding to the use of scopolamine, previous studies have reported the association of systemic administration of scopolamine with increased oxidative stress in the brain, especially the areas associated with memory and learning, such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex16,38.
Does scopolamine cause memory loss? ›Scopolamine causes short-term and long-term memory loss by blocking the muscarinic cholinergic receptors in the brain and interfering with learning and memory.
What plant produces scopolamine? ›Scopolamine and its biochemical precursor hyoscyamine are both highly toxic and hallucinogenic. They are found in plants of the Solanaceae family such as deadly nightshade, mandrake, jimsonweed, and—surprisingly—tomato.
Can you overdose on scopolamine patch? ›What happens if I overdose on Scopolamine Transdermal (Transderm-Scop)? Overdose can cause vision problems, severe drowsiness, confusion, agitation, hallucinations, painful or difficult urination, hot or dry skin, fast heartbeats, seizure, or loss of consciousness.
Can you place scopolamine patch on arm? ›Use a scopolamine patch as directed by your doctor to prevent nausea and vomiting. Additional anti-nausea medications can also be used as needed to treat nausea. Apply the patch to a hairless area on the upper arm as directed by our office. It is usually applied one day prior to surgery and left on for 3 days.
What drugs interact with scopolamine? ›
- dimenhydrinate.
- donepezil.
- galantamine.
- levodopa.
- tacrine.
If you are still having blurred vision, make sure you remove the patch and wash the area thoroughly with soap and water, you may still have medication left on our skin that is being absorbed.
Can scopolamine be absorbed through the skin? ›Scopolamine (hyoscine hydrobromide)
Scopolamine is absorbed into the body through the skin. It is not clear how scopolamine prevents nausea and vomiting due to motion sickness. The vestibular part of the ear is very important for balance.
Interactions between your drugs
Using dimenhyDRINATE together with scopolamine may increase side effects such as drowsiness, blurred vision, dry mouth, heat intolerance, flushing, decreased sweating, difficulty urinating, abdominal cramping, constipation, irregular heartbeat, confusion, and memory problems.
You should not use scopolamine if you have narrow-angle glaucoma, a blockage in your intestines, a severe breathing disorder, or if you are unable to urinate.
What drug is known as truth serum? ›What does the term "truth serum" mean? That's a term that was used to describe the use of certain drugs, most commonly barbiturates like sodium amytal and sodium pentothal, to try to extract truthful statements from people about their past experiences.
Can scopolamine cause altered mental status? ›Mental confusion or delirium can occur after application of scopolamine patch. However, predisposing factors for scopolamine-induced delirium are not known. It is expected that undetected incipient dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may be prone to develop mental confusion after applying the scopolamine patch.
How much scopolamine is in a patch? ›Each patch contains 1.5mg hyoscine U.S.P.
Is there a drug that takes away free will? ›Brooklyn, New York (VBS.TV) -- We had heard about a drug in Colombia that essentially eliminates free-will in humans. It is called scopolamine and it seemed to us to be so completely out there--like a plot device in an awful Jack Black movie.
What are the long term effects of scopolamine? ›Prolonged use of transdermal scopolamine may lead to drug-dependent addiction. Nausea, vomiting and head- ache are the most common withdrawal symptoms and hospitalization may be necessary for treatment in severe cases.
What are the 3 end of life drugs? ›
Medicine for pain in palliative care – an appropriate opioid, for example, morphine, diamorphine, oxycodone or alfentanil. Medicine for breathlessness – midazolam or an opioid. Medicine for anxiety – midazolam. Medicine for delirium or agitation – haloperidol, levomepromazine, midazolam or phenobarbital.
What is the end of life drug called? ›The most commonly prescribed drugs include acetaminophen, haloperidol, lorazepam, morphine, and prochlorperazine, and atropine typically found in an emergency kit when a patient is admitted into a hospice facility.
Can you buy scopolamine over the counter? ›Scopolamine belongs to the group of medicines called anticholinergics. It works on the central nervous system (CNS) to create a calming effect on the muscles in the stomach and bowels (gut). This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription.
Can scopolamine affect your heart? ›Results: Compared with placebo, transdermal scopolamine caused a significant increase in time domain measures of 24-h heart rate variability by 26% to 35% above baseline.