Needlefish Poisoning

The small vial on Cara's desk was filled with an innocuous clear liquid. The magistrate held it to the light and frowned.
"I've never understood why people willingly inject this." She marked the vial with red ink, 'CONTRABAND', and stowed it in her locked drawer.
"If you weren't able to lock me up for saying so, I'd suggest you try it yourself and find out." Toreo gave the woman a toothy grin. "I've heard it's quite nice, to just go a week and not give a whit about anything. Has to be liberating, no?"
The woman shot her marshal a look. "Imagine a magistrate not caring about anything for a week. Can't imagine the job would get done in the nonce." She twisted a stray lock in her fingers. "Not that I haven't been stressed at any point in my life, but needing to jab yourself with a needle to get rid of stress seems extreme, to say the least. Just let me relax at a mineral spring for a day and all of my worries would fade away. Knowing that I'll be dead in a hundred years doesn't play into it."
"Not everyone can have the unlimited mental strength of a Magistrate of the Principality, Cara." The marshal cracked the fingers on his left hand. "For a lot of these poor fools it's really hard to blame them, if their life was already on the down slope."
"I've always believed that people can pick themselves up." Cara finished the report and pushed it aside. "Progress demands it of all of us."
"Do you really believe that, or is that something the Principality makes you repeat?" Toreo held his hands up defensively. "Whoa. Joking. Don't worry, I swore the same oath you did about Progress."

Transmission & Vectors

Needlefish poisoning is a non-communicable condition.

Causes

The striped needlefish is a relatively common fish that inhabits the coral reefs of The Stagonids. It's named as such for the needle spikes that cover its upper fins as a defensive measure; these spikes ooze a potent toxin that can kill smaller animals and severely impair larger ones. Divers new to the Stagonids often reach out to the colorful fish and are stung in response.
There are two causes of needlefish poisoning - being stung by an actual needlefish (by far the more common cause), and intentional use of needlefish toxin as a mind-affecting substance. Small amounts of the toxin are said to evoke, by the words of an in-patient, 'a sense of near-death euphoria'. The latter case has become a societal issue, with trade in needlefish being banned by the Principality in 712 and possession of the toxin a criminal offense due to the danger involved.

Symptoms

Needlefish toxin has more severe local effects than systemic, and the results vary depending on where the person came in contact. At the extremities, an ordinary needlefish sting induces temporary paralysis in the limb that was stung. Stings to the trunk can be lethal by heart attack, and stings to the head are nearly always lethal (though exceedingly rare, most people don't rub their heads on needlefish) from total body paralysis. Notably, needlefish stings are reputed to be painless in of themselves. Mentally, even if stung in a relatively safe manner, victims of needlefish stings are virtually always convinced of their own impending death for the duration of the effect and enter a panicked frenzy - many sting victims end up committing suicide in their altered mental states, and they must be restrained for at least sixteen hours after a sting.
When applied as a drug the quantity is roughly a quarter to a third of a fish sting, enough to induce no more than general numbness in the area. The mental effect here is more interesting - instead of panic, users of needlefish toxin report a calm, nearly euphoric feeling, with many describing the sensation as total uninhibition. The knowledge that death is universal imparts a sort of nihilistic calm in users, the idea that all the worries of day to day life are not relevant and that everything will eventually pass. This soporific feeling can last for over a week, unlike the physical symptoms, which fade after a few hours.
This feeling is addictive, and users of needlefish toxin will continue to seek it out unless treated. This generally leads to an inevitable overdose, which is typically fatal. Addicts that are unable to acquire their next dose enter a withdrawal stupor for a number of weeks in which they will not feed themselves, requiring supportive care until the stupor ends.

Treatment

Treatment of acute needlefish poisoning is supportive, with the user generally restrained and forced to drink quantities of water and lemon juice in order to flush the needlefish poison out of circulation more quickly. There exist theraputic magics that can assist, as well; a wizard trained in such techniques can enhance the circulation of a sting victim, reducing the chance of death and speeding recovery.
Treatment for needlefish toxin addiction is more strenuous, as the addiction-related stupor requires institutionalization for the duration. Addicts must be kept from the drug and be made to take food and drink for at least four weeks or until the patient exhibits the desire to eat and drink on their own again. Addicts commonly relapse unless of unusual mental fortitude, which is why there has been a total ban on trade and possession of needlefish toxin.

Prognosis

The majority of acute needlefish stings are to the arm, and as long as the condition is recognized quickly and the victim restrained, the prognosis within a day is nearly always positive, with the victim generally no worse for wear. Stings to the chest and head are nearly always fatal.

The prognosis for needlefish toxin addicts is darker, with most addicts eventually overdosing. Magisterial investigation has concluded that there is no 'safe' way to use needlefish toxin in low quantities - addicts build a resistance to the toxin and must take more in order to induce the euphoric effect, which results in fatal accidents. Roughly two thirds of addicts that enter treatment end up relapsing, making treatment a costly undertaking for the Principality.

History

Although needlefish stings have been common knowledge for the denizens of The Stagonids, the opening of the islands to the tourist trade has resulted in far more stings; visitors are now warned strenuously to not touch local fish when swimming or diving.
The use of the toxin as a drug was apparently well-known but nonexistent locally, with the people of the islands also cognizant of the risk. This was apparently not communicated to the tourist consortiums; prior to the ban on its trade, needlefish poison was commercialized and promoted as a relaxation agent, and a trip to 'relaxation temples' was a common stop on the itinerary of any tour package.
Rising caseloads of addiction in the Etoile Capital City and rising absenteeism at the manufactories caused a hard stop to the practice; in 712, the Principality of Etoile immediately banned the production and trade of needlefish poison and empowered Magistrates to arrest and institutionalize anyone who possessed the toxin in any quantity. Currently, the toxin is available in small quantities from illicit vendors and traders, with addicts typically coming from the marginalized sectors of Etoliean society.

Cultural Reception

The immense popularity of needlefish toxin while it was legally consumable created a doctrinal problem for the Principality. From the perspective of the state, the people were choosing to trade their faith in progress for self-destructive nihilism and escapism. Cultural counterarguments to this have emerged from many in high society, arguing that the 'greater perspective' induced by taking needlefish toxin has allowed progress in both technology and the arts. Nevertheless, all recognize the high costs of needlefish addiction and there is no serious movement to end its proscription.

Type

Chemical Compound

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Uncommon