Beat That: Indian Students Tripping on Frog Sweat, Says Lawmaker

Students in India’s northern state of Himachal Pradesh are getting addicted to a secretion that oozes off the back of frogs. The authorities are concerned that the trend, which is spreading like wildfire, will add to the already booming drug menace in the state.

School students in India's northern state of Himachal Pradesh are tripping on frog secretion and it has become a cause of great concern for the authorities. Raising the issue in the state assembly, local legislator Rakesh Pathania claimed that a school principal confided in him that a large number of students were falling prey to this worrisome habit.  

"In my constituency, one of the school principals told me that six students had beaten him up when he caught them playing with Dudu (local name of frog). Later on, it was discovered that they were making the frog run till it sweats so that they could get high by licking the sweat", legislator Rakesh said during a recent session of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

A subsequent probe revealed that youngsters in the area were indeed using frog sweat for its hallucinogenic properties as a cheap alternative to other forms of drugs.

"Some of the students who were interrogated said that a lick of frog sweat had the same effect as that of half a bottle of liquor", Pathania added.

Himachal Pradesh has witnessed an alarming rise of substance abuse by the youth, according to a recent study conducted in the state capital Shimla, in which it was found that around 54% school children were into substance abuse and surprisingly 25% of them were girls.

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In the last one year, several cases of drug-related deaths were reported in the state, which lies in the foothills of the Himalayan mountain range. In the industrial town of Baddi alone, the sudden deaths of at least 17 youths were attributed to an overdose of drugs, mainly cocaine.  

"We are unable to face this battle. We are unable to fight this war. A war has been declared by the drug lords on us", legislator Pathania cautioned the state assembly.

Another legislator pointed out that some boys and girls were using shoe polish to get intoxicated and that the drug problem has become so widespread that a number of students were caught hiding drugs inside their rectum when inspected by the school authorities.

Other members of the state assembly attributed the menace to what they called a "nexus between politicians and drug peddlers". They called for concerted efforts by all stakeholders to expose the nexus in order to fight the menace effectively.

In last one year, the state police have registered over 100 cases in Una, 31 cases in Solan, 137 cases in Kangra under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. Moreover, the state government plans to make the law more stringent by making possession of drugs and psychotropic substances a non-bailable offense.