Hollywood celebrities and Democratic politicians are using adrenachrome derived from abused children to get high or stay young forever.

The pandemic has brought once-fringe conspiracy theories to a wider audience. One chemical that could become mainstream is adrenachrome pigment. Like many conspiracy theories, there are multiple overlapping versions. Most importantly, however, adrenachrome has widely desired effects, but can only be obtained from terrified captives, preferably children. Various Hollywood celebrities, senior Democrats and a handful of billionaires are reportedly enjoying mind-altering trips or staying young in this way. Trauma is said to make the chemical more potent, so the children in these stories are sexually abused.

If the best conspiracy theories have a kernel of truth, then this one is pretty bad. The only real aspect here is the presence of a chemical called adrenachrome pigment, which is related to adrenachrome.

Adrenachrome (3-hydroxy-1-methyl-2, 3-dihydro-1h-indole-5, 6-dione) can be produced by oxidizing adrenachrome, which is known to drive the fight or flight response in animals.

In the 1950s, many people, most notably Aldous Huxley, claimed that adrenachrome had psychoactive effects similar to mescaline and could cause schizophrenia. Whether that's right is still debatable, but if you're looking for a mind-altering drug, there are more reliable ones, including some that may have beneficial side effects.

Perhaps inspired by Huxley, the American writer Hunter S. Thompson called adrenachrome a superdrug in two of his books. In Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971), the character Dr. Gonzo tells the narrator; "There's only one source for these things... Adrenachrome in the living. It's no use taking it out of a body." Terry Gilliam filmed the book and claims Thompson told him he made it up. Gilliam didn't know the adrenachrome was there, but what Thompson really believed, and where he got his information, died with him.