Huffing glue is apparently passé. Authorities in Indonesia are warning about a dangerous new method of getting high that is becoming increasingly popular among teens in Central Java, and it might be the most disgusting way of getting a buzz that we’ve ever heard of.
The National Narcotics Agency’s Central Java Regional Chapter (BNNP) recently warned the public that teenagers in the province are increasingly getting high from boiling menstrual pads and/or baby diapers in water and then drinking the results.
As repulsive as the idea is, we can’t say we were totally shocked to hear about it now as the fad was spotlighted by the Indonesian media in the past, back in 2016 when it was reported to be a growing trend among teens on the island of Belitung (with one newspaper even providing a detailed recipe and instructions for the practice).
The Central Java BNNP says that the teenagers hooked on menstrual pad/diaper hot water range between 13-16 years in age and that they mostly live in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in suburban outskirts.
“Narcotics for certain groups are expensive, so among this group the kids still want to try [getting high],” BNNP Central Java Narcotics Eradication Department Head Suprinarto told Okezone yesterday.
“They used to dig through trash to find used menstrual pads, and then they boiled them. But now they buy new pads. Inside there are gels that soak up liquid — that gives the ‘fly’ effect.”
No arrests have reportedly been made — menstrual pad water is not included among the list of illegal narcotics in Indonesia.
The Institute of Mental Health Addiction and Neuroscience (IMAN) warned that drinking a mixture containing the chemicals found in menstrual pads and diapers can lead to dangerous health complications, such as severe damage to the kidneys and liver, as well as being potentially carcinogenic.
