L O S T
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION- Intent: To create a new narcotic to release to the public, and form a basis for Nikjaime's upcoming cartel
- Image Source: Plant | Smoker
- Restricted Missions: Not Applicable
- Primary Source: Mycosia Flower
- Name: Refined Mycosia Leaves, known colloquially as Sparrow Weed
- Manufacturer: In its purest form it is naturally occurring, if rare. However, since being discovered by Nikjaime and his team production of this plant and its product has been moved to Nar Shaddaa. His team are the only known manufacturers of Sparrow Weed
- Homeworld (optional): Dac
- Production: Mass-Produced
- Affiliation: Nikjaime Baresc | Open-Market
- Modularity: Not Applicable
- Legal Status: Legal in its purest form, illegal in its altered form
- Ingredients: Leaves of the Mycosia Flower (Purest Form); The addition of various chemicals (Altered Form)
- Classification: Drug
- Method of Consumption: The purest form of Sparrow Weed can be burned, similar to incense, chewed, inhaled/smoked, or turned into a tea-like substance to be drank. The chosen method will alter the severity of its effects. The altered version can only be burned or inhaled/smoked.
- Average Life: Though the main effects will only last a couple of hours, traces of the drug will remain within an individuals system for at least a full day, and continued exposure can lead to long term effects.
- Nutritional Value/Allergies/Side Effects/ Purpose: Sparrow Weed acts as a relaxant which makes the user feel as though they are on cloud nine. It creates a feeling of intense good luck, and leaves the user more susceptible to exploitation than they otherwise would be. It had no known nutritional value, and so far no allergies have been reported. Prolonged exposure to impure/chemically altered strains of Sparrow Weed can lead to a mixture of breathing problems, jitters caused by damaged nerves, and issues with blood circulation. It is highly addictive, particularly to those tempted by vices, and these more negative and long-term side effects don't tend to show themselves until a user is already hooked.
- Relaxant
- Induces feeling of euphoria and good luck
- Lowers a users ability to properly assess a situation, leading to a higher risk of being exploited
- Sweet and aromatic
- Naturally occurring; Cheap to manufacture
- Promotes a relaxed mentality
- Highly sought after once tried
- Favourite of Casino Owners, who promote its use; users are more likely to gamble when they're on Sparrow Weed due to the feeling of good luck it induces
- Takes time to grow, making the purest form harder to come by
- While cheaper, the altered variant is full of toxic chemicals which lead to more permanent and life-threatening side effects with prolonged use
- Seems harmless to begin with, making it particularly dangerous to ingest as it leads to a false sense of security
- Lowers its users ability to properly judge a situation, which can lead to exploitation by those who are aware of this fact
- Illegal in its most common form
Sparrow Weed is said to have been named because of the way it makes the user feel as though they're flying high, however it is actually an in joke between the distributors who are aware of how vulnerable it leaves the user, susceptible to exploitation by putting them in an extremely happy-go-lucky in the clouds mentality where "nothing could ever possibly go wrong". After all the sparrow is prey to the hawk.
In its purest form, Sparrow Weed exudes a sweet, aromatic scent, and is mostly harmless when it comes to side effects. Once the drug is out of a users system they are absolutely fine, though the high it provides them leaves them wanting more. In this natural state the relaxation and high-inducing effects are far more intense than they would be in the altered version, yet distributing it in this state is expensive and reserved for the highest paying clients due to how long the plant takes to grow.
The purest form is able to be utilized in many ways, from being burned like incense to reach a larger crowd, smoked alongside - or without - tobacco, chewed, or turned into loose-leafed tea. The most intense reactions come from Sparrow Weed being smoked or chewed, while consuming it as a tea increases the relaxation effects while dampening the more euphoric sensations.
For the most part the Sparrow Weed typically found on the streets is mixed with various chemicals that allow the baseline plant to be stretched further, and as such is much more toxic in nature. Prolonged exposure to this muddied strain can lead to breathing problems, jitters caused by damaged nerves, and issues with blood circulation. By the time it reaches these extreme stages, however, the user is more or less hooked.
Unlike the pure form, due to its composition the only real way to use the impure variant of Sparrow Weed is to burn or smoke it. Unlike its counterpart, the altered version does not have a very pleasant smell and as such is less frequently used in an incense like fashion.
After its properties were discovered by accident on Dac, by Nikjaime and his copilot Coltin, several of the plants were uprooted and transported back to their base of operations on Nar Shaddaa where production efforts first began. After realizing just how long the plant took to grow various chemicals were added and removed to try and see what would work to make the baseline plant stretch further without reducing too much of its effects. Since then production has only grown, and already there is a high demand within Nar Shaddaa's lower levels.
Demand for the product truly picked up when one of the managers at the Hawk's Den saw the effect it had on many of their patrons when it was burned within the Casino, tempting them into wasting far more money at the tables with a belief that good fortune would come their way. While individuals purchase it for the relaxing, euphoric feeling it gives them, proprietors - specifically of businesses that rely on "luck" - seek out the purer variants in order to burn it around their establishments, and squeeze further money from the fools who waste their life savings on chance.
