Nox

Nox is a highly potent drug that originates from Planet Marseille and is illegal to trade within Gallia. "Nox" translates from Latin as "darkness" or "night", and since precise chemical designation of the substance is impossible, this name is used both officially and unofficially across Gallia. Bacteria known to be the only source of this substance are symbiotic to several relatively rare echinoderm species present in the oceans of Marseille. The bacteria are extracted from their hosts, cryogenically frozen and shipped to drug laboratories, from where the pure Nox is shipped to dealers. The bacteria do not reproduce without their host, and Nox itself cannot be synthesized chemically, being a complex combination of flunitrazepam, psilocybin and over a dozen organic components not used in chemistry or medicine. The effect of the drug also cannot be reproduced by any known drug, making Nox the highest-rated drug substance in Gallia (before the introduction of cardamine). Nox has initial time-slowing and sedative effect, shortly followed by increase of brain activity and hallucinations while the consumer's body is relaxed. In some time, the hallucinations are followed by very deep, nearly lethargic sleep lasting for 12-16 hours, after which the consumer experiences short-term amnesia. While physical dependency caused by Nox is relatively light, psychological dependency develops quickly and is very difficult to recover from. No currently accepted medical use of Nox exists, and experiments on humans that involve Nox were banned throughout Gallia over 50 years ago.