Rohine

Rohine is a potent opium-based drug popular among humans.

History
Named for Rohini, the birth star of Krishna in Hindu mythology, rohine was originally engineered by Dr. Maya Kapoor, the leader of a pharmaceutical group in Hyderabad, India, in 2016 CE. At the time, India was reeling from a terrorist attack, and the Indian government believed that the terrorists had gotten their funding through the heroin trade. Lacking the economic means to treat the thousands of heroin addicts who lived in the cities, the government sought an alternative to heroin that could be produced locally to displace the "foreign opiates". Rohine was seen as that alternative.

The distribution began in 2017 CE, with local government officials discreetly passing the drug to dealers who serviced the "Tollywood" studios. The drug proved popular, and at one point, celibrities openly flaunted their use of rohine in the tabloids. Eventually, it spread beyond India to China, and from China, it spread everywhere.

Over the course of the century, rohine increasingly displaced heroin. In 2046, the heroin trade in Afghanistan and Pakistan collapsed, and rohine was suddenly left with no competition. The drug's value stagnated as a result.

Everything changed in 2148 CE, however, when the Prothean ruins were discovered on Mars. Humanity began spreading farther away from the Sol System, and the rohine market grew competetive once more.

Today, rohine can be found throughout Alliance space. Though the Alliance officially outlaws rohine production and distribution, the sheer enormity of Alliance space makes enforcement nearly impossible.

Application
Rohine can be snorted, injected, or "stamped" (absorbed through the skin via omni-gel.) Most users prefer stamping, due to the misconception that the omni-gel mitigates the more dangerous side-effects. Throughout the extranet, one can find versions of an urban legend of the rohine junkie who accidentally killed his girlfriend by stamping her during sex, but whether or not this was based on a true incident is unknown.

Effects
Like all opiates, rohine causes users to feel less pain and a minor "buzz". Though it is promoted as non-addictive, it is at the very least habit-forming. Long-term use has been known to cause permanently-lowered inhibitions; studies have shown that longtime rohine users are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior. It can also damage the user's ability to differentiate between right and wrong.