Jungle Fever: Smoking Paraphernalia & Legal Highs

Iolite is the company that first started the portable vaporizer revolution back in 2008. Made by the Irish company Oglesby and Butler, founded in 1984, it was the world’s first portable cordless vaporizer.  The Iolite is not designed for essential oils or concentrates, so you should only use an herbal smoking blend or a party powder like Snow Berry.

To use the Iolite, simply pack the herbs into the chamber and turn it on.  The Iolite will heat up the herbs to the desired temperature in a matter of just minutes.  Then, simply inhale the vapours through the straw, and turn it off when you have finished. 

The Iolite comes in a range of eight different colours.  It is about the size of a mobile phone and can be used almost anywhere.  It is odourless and smokeless, so will not violate the terms of the UK-wide smoking ban.  It is ergonomically designed and has quickly become a market leader in vaporizers. 

More recently, the Iolite was joined by the Wispr, created by two acclaimed San Francisco design firms.  This second-generation vaporizer has a very striking design, and comes in six different colours.

Some herbal remedies, which you can put in your Roor pipe or Eclipse Vape-2O vaporizer, claim to have aphrodisiac properties.  Chief among them are damiana and the yohimbe root.  The latter has actually enjoyed some success in treating erectile dysfunction in men, though herbal supplement shops sell them as an aphrodisiac for women as well.

Damiana

Damiana is a smoking herb that is used in traditional Mexican medicine to treat sexual dysfunction and menstrual pain.  It purportedly has similar effects to marijuana. 

Betel Nuts

These are chewed in India, and supposedly form a part of tantric sex magic.  However, they are known to be carcinogenic, so their use is not recommended.

Guarana

Guarana is well known as a stimulant similar to caffeine.  It is found in capsule form as well as in many of the energy drinks available in most supermarkets.  Its aphrodisiac properties are strongly linked to its stimulant properties.

Clinical trials on these herbal aphrodisiacs are few and far between. However, medical opinion seems to be that aphrodisiacs in general operate on the placebo principle.  In other words, anything can be an aphrodisiac if you believe it is.

The Vape-2O Vaporizer is a vaporizer that uses interchangeable glass vials to heat essential oils and concentrates for vaporization.  It can use smoking herbs as well, but it works better with viscous liquids than with powders or ground herbs.  It is a highly portable vaporizer that is designed to attach to a water pipe such as a hookah or bong.  Users are warned that the glass vials can get extremely hot, so be careful not to touch them.

Essential Oils for the Eclipse Vape-2O Vaporizer

Essential oils are mostly used in aromatherapy, but a few are known to act as legal highs.  Clove oil is recommended as a mild psychedelic drug, especially when used in conjunction with elemi oil.  Be warned, however, it is toxic in large doses, so be sure to only use a few drops.

The essential oil of nutmeg is reported to have similar effects to ecstasy, but it can cause nausea, and so can be difficult to take in large enough doses to produce the desired effect. 

Finally, it is worth noting that the synthetic cannabinoid known as ‘spice’, made from herbs and essential oils, was once sold as a legal high in Britain, but is now a class B drug.

Whilst smoking accessories such as glass ashtrays, spinning ashtrays and Rizla rolling machine tins can be highly collectable, bongs can be works of art in themselves. Ever since its invention during China’s Ming Dynasty, the bong has been divided into two types, the plain bong for the ordinary folk, and elaborate jewelled designs for the nobility. In our more egalitarian age, imaginative designs are well within the reach of ordinary people.

Glass Bongs

These are usually a normal shaped bong with a design etched onto the glass.  The cannabis leaf is the most popular design, but for those who prefer the legal high route, there are also musical instruments, machine guns and skulls for sale.  For a more colourful glass bong, Roor Pipes have teamed up with artist Martin Birzle to create a gorgeous painted design in red, yellow, orange and black.

Ceramic Bongs

Ceramic bongs let designers really go to town.  They can come in all sorts of shapes, from Yoda to Flipper the dolphin.  Death seems to be a common theme, with bongs in the shape of death’s heads and the Grim Reaper, or pistols that you can put in your mouth to make it look as though you are playing Russian roulette.  I am not sure what this says about the psychology of those who use them, but at least nobody could accuse the makers of these bongs of downplaying the health risks that even the smoking of herbal highs can carry.  However, for a more cheerful design, you could always choose a cute frog or dinosaur instead.  There seems to be no limit to the creativity of these designs.

The pills have been popped, the herbal smoking blends have been safely disposed of in a spinning ashtray and you are recovering from a great night out. However, just like with illegal drugs, users of legal highs can experience a comedown after partying too hard.  This article looks at some of the ways you can restore vitality the morning after the night before.

Multivitamins

Your body can lose vitamins and minerals while you are off your face on legal highs.  Many online head shops sell recovery products designed to replace these nutrients, though there seems to be little difference to similar products sold in high street chemists, apart from the price.

Serotonin Boosters

Many legal highs boost the production of serotonin, the brain’s natural ‘happy chemical’, which can then become depleted, leading to a comedown.  Serotonin boosters operate on a ‘hair of the dog’ principle, giving a small boost of serotonin to regulate brain chemistry more effectively.

Valerian

Valerian is a herb used as a natural sedative, to help bring people down from the buzz caused by legal highs, if they need it, to allow for a good night’s sleep, and also as an anti-spasmodic.  A summary of studies into Valerian’s effectiveness published in the American Journal of Medicine showed mixed results, finding a statistically significant improvement in the sleep quality of those taking the herb, but finding evidence of bias and flawed methodology in the studies themselves.  However, it has been highly valued in both western herbalism and traditional Indian medicine for many centuries.

The word shamanism refers to a variety of practices designed to induce a trance-like state that practitioners believe will expand human consciousness beyond the limits of the mundane natural world and into the realms of the spirit. Chief among these are fast drumming at 230 beats per minute or higher, ritual dances and the use of certain herbs. It is the latter that most relates to the topic of legal highs.

Archaeological and Historical Evidence for Ritual Plant Use

Cannabis seeds have been found in Bronze Age burial pits in Romania and on board Viking long ships. The paraphernalia found alongside them would appear to indicate that they were smoked ritually. Archaeological finds from the Western Han dynasty in China also inspired the Red Dragon herbal blend from the American company Earth Spell Exotic Herbs LLC, based in Colorado Springs. Closer to home, the Nine Herbs Charm is an ancient Anglo-Saxon poem that provides detailed rituals for collecting nine sacred herbs to use as medicine or to promote a dream-state. In particular, mugwort, the first herb mentioned, is sometimes smoked by modern day shamans to induce what they refer to as ‘astral dreaming’.

Legal Highs in Shamanism Today

The original herb used by the Siberian shamans, who gave their name to the practice of shamanism as ‘shaman’ means priest in the Tungusic languages of Siberia, was the fly agaric mushroom. A powerful hallucinogen, it is legal to own in the UK, but must be labelled “not for human consumption” if sold.

Another popular herbal high used by Native American shamans, or medicine men, was wild lettuce (Lactuca virosa). Often sold by online head shops, either in plant form or as part of an incense blend, it tends to be marketed as an aphrodisiac and sleep aid, a rather contradictory combination, one might think, rather than as a gateway to the spirit world. However, the Hopi Indians smoked the resin of this plant in order to enhance dream states, a practice continued by many shamans today.

As a leading brand within the vaporizer industry, the popularity of the Volcano is testament to its superb design quality and also to the appreciation of those seeking the best experience of legal highs.

Volcano vaporizer models use an operating system that employs one of two valves, the volcano vaporizer solid valve or the volcano vaporizer easy valve.  There are also two options for the type of vaporizer: the Volcano Classic or the Volcano Digital.  All in all, as both valves fit both types of hot air apparatus, the interchangeable nature of the system as a whole means there is an option to choose between four different collections of vaporizer equipment, depending upon personal preference.

It is well worth taking time to explore the similarities and differences between these four options before making a final decision.  These tend to be related to appearance, rather than performance, and to personal preference.

Classic or Digital?

The Classic is operated via a rotary dial, such as might be found on an analogue watch or clock, and a knob, similar to that on a wireless radio, which gives it a much more traditional appearance.  Enthusiasts of the Classic approve of the old-fashioned features and believe this gives the vaporizer more character.  They also advocate its effective temperature control.

Fans of the Digital, on the other hand, will make much of the more stylish, contemporary precision version of temperature control, with an LED screen as an indicator.  Both Classic and Digital models are praised by users for the quality of their design and construction.

Cigarette papers can be tricky to manage when rolling tobacco or herbal products. Although most users find their technique improves over time, papers can be flimsy and fiddly, especially if rolling a cigarette singe-handily.  There are a number of ingenious devices available, however, that assist those seeking to create the perfect cigarette or other quality legal highs.

Keeping it Simple

The most basic type of Rizla rolling machine is made of a metal roller flanked by hardwearing nylon sides or ‘blinds’. This is used with 70 millimetre green Rizla papers and five millimetre or six millimetre filters, if rolling tipped cigarettes. If ease of use is the goal, the basic machine has a good, deep frame and so can be closed and opened with ease.

Alternatives

There is also an adjustable version of the cigarette-rolling machine, which allows the size of the blind to be controlled via a switch on the side. This means either six millimetre or eight millimetre tips can be used.

Tubes rather than papers can also be used in certain Rizla rolling machines, producing a more professionally finished product.

In order to get a larger cigarette, switch to the larger or king size cigarette rolling machines. These come in sizes including 100 millimetres and 110 millimetres.

Remember, tobacco products, rolling machines and cigarette papers can only be sold to adults. All responsible sellers adhere to this regulation and many suppliers mark their packages for delivery accordingly. Proof of age is usually required at time of ordering from online suppliers.

Efficient and easy to use, vaporizers can be used for achieving legal highs from herbs, oils and other concentrated substances. A range of these is available and some types offer a better quality inhalation, depending on for what kinds of materials they have been principally designed, and how they operate.

The Eclipse Vape-2O Vaporizer

For example, this vaporizer was principally designed for vaporizing concentrates and oils, and the glass vials should be kept clean, especially if a variety of materials are being used at different times. Regular maintenance pays off and will keep all parts of the equipment in good condition in the longer term.

The Science

Capable of being used with or without water tools, the main body is made of aluminium that has been coated with a protective oxide layer by an electrolytic process: thus the metal forms an anode. Chambers for herbs take the form of glass vials, and a series of differently sized fittings allow the vaporizer to be used with a range of water tools, or none at all if this is preferred. As glass is also used as the material for the heating element, these are interchangeable to prevent contamination when using oils and concentrates.

Operation and Use

It is important when using the small, typically cylindrical, glass containers that they can be screwed into position and unscrewed again easily, without risk of breakage. Secure connections are also important to ensure there is no leakage or contamination.

There is an extra glass vial included in the package, as well as a sturdy carrying case to hold all the equipment.

Smoking any type of tobacco or legal herb means that an appropriate receptacle is needed for the resulting ash and a filter tip butt or roach. A roach is a small, rolled piece of cardboard that is inserted into the end of a rolled cigarette, enabling the tobacco or herb to be completely smoked without the lips or fingers getting burnt. Some smokers prefer to use a metal roach clip, which can be reused, and which serves the same purpose as a cardboard roach.

Novelty ashtrays come in a wide range of shapes and sizes and they can also be used for snuffing a cigarette as well as disposing of ash and filters. Snuffers also come as stand-alone accessories, for example, they may be in the shape of a bullet as it is easy to stand the broader, flat surface upright and to place a cigarette in the opening at the pointed end on top. They instantly snuff out the smoke and also allow a cigarette to be relit when required.

Choosing a novelty ashtray comes down to a smoker’s need for convenience as well as style, and those with a good sense of humour might want to buy a version of a coughing ashtray. This resembles an ordinary ashtray but when ash is flicked into it a hacking cough sound emerges. It is likely to startle the first time user, unless they are in on the joke, and works by way of a movement sensor.

Novelty ashtrays that stand on the floor may include telescopic or flexible ashtrays that look smart and contemporary.