Head shop
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A head shop is a retail outlet specializing in paraphernalia related to consumption of cannabis, other recreational drugs, and New Age herbs, as well as generally selling counterculture art, magazines, music, clothing, and home decor. Products typically include water pipes (colloquially called bongs), roach clips, glass pipes, pipe screens, rolling papers, rolling machines, scales or balances, whipped-cream chargers (which contain nitrous oxide), blacklight-responsive posters, incense, cigarette lighters, and products claimed to give false negative results for drugs on urinalysis tests.
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[edit] History
Head shops originated in the 1960s in cities with a high concentration of college-age youth, often growing out of independently owned poster or candle stores. Sources cite the Psychedelic Shop on Haight Street in San Francisco, California, operated by U.S. Army veteran Ron Thelin and his younger brother Jay, as the first in the United States [1] [2] [3] [4]--it opened on January 3, 1966. Head shops served as an important outlet for the underground comics of Robert Crumb and other counterculture cartoonists. The shop's popularity eventually waned with the aging of that era's baby boomer generation, and with the retail mainstream discovering and co-opting aspects of that market niche, such as alternative music and eco-friendly products.[citation needed]
[edit] Legality
In the United States head shops exist in a legal grey area because of the nature of the materials they sell, which can be used for both legal and illegal drugs. Signs stating that the products sold "are for tobacco use only" are commonly posted.
By the early 2000s, with the passage of local laws allowing for medicinal marijuana, head shops have reemerged regionally and on the Internet to service that health market.
Head shops which exist in locations where drug use, especially marijuana use, is still illegal, have special "code words" for the smoking instruments and paraphernalia in their shops. These code words include (but are not limited to):
- "Water pipe" for a bong or hookah
- "Tobacco grinder with residue catch" for a kief catching grinder
- "Pipe" or "Hand Pipe" for a bowl, piece or hand pipe
In many head shops, a sign will be posted (and reiterated vocally) stating that any reference to using their products for illegal drug use will result in them either suspension of all sales for that time period, or escorted from the shop (after subsequent mistakes).
[edit] Smart shops
Smart shops are shops, prominently found in the Netherlands, that sell psychoactive substances in addition to the drug paraphernalia found in head shops. Most smart shops sell psychedelic mushrooms.
[edit] References
- The Tillsonburg News, August 3, 2005: "Potent herb not regulated in Canada"
- The Daily Transcript, July 19, 2004: "Head shop regulation is good for business"
- CNN transcript, June 24, 2003: "New Recreational Drug Poses Questions For DEA"
- The Christian Science Monitor, December 17, 1980: "Nationwide Drive Against 'Head Shops' Runs Into a Federal Court Snag"
- Anchorage Press, Sept. 8-14, 2005: "Why We All Can't Just Get a Bong"
[edit] External links
- Project 420: A Community Marijuana Search Engine
- Highwayhome Head Shop Guide
- SmokersNet Head Shops
- San Francisco Neighborhood Guide: The Haight
- UK Head Shop
[edit] See also
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