Drudanae

"Chasing the Purple Dragon..."

Drudanae is a cultivated species of plant with a number of uses, however, most commonly it is used as an addictive narcotic.

Description

Drudanae is a tall dark coloured vine-like plant, the plant possesses numerous thorny protrusions along its stems which are commonly of a dark purple hue near the stem and a biege like dried wood towards the tip, however, these may be more of a dark green near the base of the plant. The plant can be identified by its gradation of colour which shifts from a dark green at its base and roots into a dark or pallid purple at the heads of the plant's stems, each of which ends in a flower with three thick and leathery petals of a shiny red hue which surround the head's pale colored center. 

A drudanae den operated by a Shou.

In the realms

Drudanae is classed as a narcotic in many regions, and can only be grown by special dispensation, though this does not stop the illegal production and consumption of the plant in various Drudanae dens across the north. It is a hybrid of plants and as a result cannot be found in the wild, in the winter it must be kept indoors; in all seasons it must be kept in the sunlight, but can be partially shaded in the summer time. 

An ornately decorated Drudanae pipe.

Uses & history

Drudanae has a long history as a psychoactive compound with sleep-inducing properties, and euphoric properties as well, however, intermittently it has been used as a medicine, particularly in the east. Over the years drudanae has been used for a number of medicinal applications commonly to address non-life threatening conditions or acute ailments including to kill pain, aid sleep, for coughs, diarrhoea, period pains and for toothache and colic in babies. While its use as a medicine has all but ceased in most regions due to greater understanding of its addictiveness and the danger of death through overose (particularly in younger patients) drudanae has become the staple of many illicit dens and rings up and down the Sword Coast and beyond.
Drudanae is most commonly smoked from a pipe which while still dangerous is considered safer than consuming the plant raw which while possibly providing a more intense euphoric and hallucinatory effect has been observed to damage the stomach lining of the user and greatly increases the risk of negative responses from the body such as myocardial suppression and possible myocardial infarction often leading to death.

Trivia

The phrase "Chasing the Purple Dragon" is a term used commonly to describe someone using the drug most often coined by those outside such circles, or more specifically by those within them to refer to someone inhaling the smoke from powdered drudanae directly, to pursue a more intense yet dangerous high.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Multiple vine-like stems ending in a large three-petaled flower

Origin/Ancestry

Cultivated

Conservation Status

Least concern