The dry and arid Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region – home to the mighty black scorpion – has emerged as the epicentre of a rare drug culture. People in Pakistan’s borderlands are no strangers to narcotics; the Soviet-Afghan war in the ‘80s made sure of that. But scorpion venom is a wildcard drug ripping through communities that no one knows what to do with. People who have smoked it say the high is powerful and can last for days. Its side effects, however, seem too heavy a cost to bear. VICE travelled across Peshawar, Mattani and Dir to speak to users, researchers, a former narcotics-control officer and a journalist to understand why people smoke scorpion venom and how it’s changed their lives.

Click here to subscribe to VICE: http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE

About VICE:
The Definitive Guide To Enlightening Information. From every corner of the planet, our immersive, caustic, ground-breaking and often bizarre stories have changed the way people think about culture, crime, art, parties, fashion, protest, the internet and other subjects that don't even have names yet. Browse the growing library and discover corners of the world you never knew existed. Welcome to VICE.

Connect with VICE:
Check out our full video catalog: http://bit.ly/VICE-Videos
Videos, daily editorial and more: http://vice.com
More videos from the VICE network: https://www.fb.com/vicevideo
Click here to get the best of VICE daily: http://bit.ly/1SquZ6v
Like VICE on Facebook: http://fb.com/vice
Follow VICE on Twitter: http://twitter.com/vice
Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/vice
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vice?lang=en

The VICE YouTube Network:
VICE: https://www.youtube.com/VICE
MUNCHIES: https://www.youtube.com/MUNCHIES
VICE News: https://www.youtube.com/VICENews
VICELAND: https://www.youtube.com/VICELANDTV
Vice Life: https://www.youtube.com/Broadly
Noisey: https://www.youtube.com/Noisey
Motherboard: https://www.youtube.com/MotherboardTV
VICE Sports: https://www.youtube.com/NOC
i-D: http://www.youtube.com/iDmagazine
Waypoint: https://www.youtube.com/WaypointVICE