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Scopolamine: Vice TV Seeks Out the Devil's Breath
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by Jordan Yerman | April 7, 2010 at 08:38 am
3661 views | 10 Recommendations | 6 comments
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Scopolamine, or Burundanga: The Devil's Breath
VBS.TV has a special feature on scopolamine, a Colombian drug purported to strip the user of his or her free will. Scopolamine (or burundanga, "the devil's breath") apparently leaves the victim fully conscious and functional, but also totally open to suggestion.
Scopolamine is used not only as a date-rape drug, but also as an aid for robbers. Prostitutes will slip it to unsuspecting customers, and burglars will use it to help homeowners empty their own homes of valuables.
Vice Investigates Scopolamine
Vice staffers went to Bogota to investigate Scopolamine, but the tone of their journey changed from "let's try the new exotic drug" to "this is really terrifying" as they interview victims of the drug and criminals who have used it to commit crimes.
Says one prostitute who admits to using the drug to rob johns, "Just as we use the drug to rob men, men use it to rape us. Everything about scopolamine has to do with hurting people."
Scopolamine is made from the fruit of the Borrachero tree, whose flowers are narcotic. Locals use the tree's flowers in tea as a hallucinogen, but the fruit must be chemically processed to create scopolamine.
The Vice guys meet up with a Bogota drug dealer named Demencia Black, who sells them some of the Devil's Breath. Demencia says, "You wait a minute and when you see [the drug] kick in, you know you own that person." An overdose, though, carries the risk of death. In a country overrun with cocaine, burundanga is really hard to get.
The short documentary is hosted on CNN and VBS.TV as part of Vice's partnership with CNN.
It was difficult to believe at times, but we spoke to countless law enforcement officials and medical professionals who verified all that we'd heard, and who also expressed their frustration and fear with what they saw as a growing problem
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Jordan Yerman
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (6)
at 10:22 on April 7th, 2010
That is pretty crazy..
at 10:33 on April 7th, 2010
This is a drug that has been around since 1880. How could you not have researched it - the article sounds as though the reporters did no homework whatsoever.
at 10:39 on April 7th, 2010
This is very poor journalism. Scopolamine is an FDA approved medication used for sea-sickness. As with any medication, the dose should be known and controlled.
at 06:01 on May 14th, 2010
What you are thinking of is an extreme knock off of the drug.
at 11:09 on April 7th, 2010
Drugs aren't evil, people are What strikes me about this story is not how "bad" this drug is, but how low some of the human population can sink and what terrible things they do to each other. I think there is a reason that they were born in columbia while others are living beautiful, happy, safe and wonderful lives elsewhere.
at 22:16 on May 4th, 2010
Karma, are you saying it's their own fault they were born in Columbia? How idiotic! You must think only the "blessed people", like those priviledged to be born in the US, are wonderful. Travel a little, get out of your neighborhood for a change, and see that people ARE wonderful (and bad) everywhere.