Snake Handling and the Drink of Death

In the U.S. there are Christian 'snake handling' Pentecostal groups that focus much of their practice on Mark 16: 15-18:

¹⁵ And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
¹⁶ He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
¹⁷ And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
¹⁸ They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
source

National Geographic has brought out a program ('Snake Salvation') to document a particular group in the Appalachia hills of Tennessee and this "over-100-year-old-tradition":







'Pastor Andrew Hamblin Tells How God Led Him to Pick up Serpents': here

'Pastor Says Serpent-Handling Movement Could Be as Mainstream as Southern Baptists': here