Jungle Fever: Smoking Paraphernalia & Legal Highs

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.

There are two models of Volcano Vaporizers: the Classic and the Digital. Enthusiasts of each one have their preferences; however both models undoubtedly perform vaporization for substances, such as aromatic herbs, in an efficient and effective way. This is a great bonus for, and attraction to, users of legal highs and smokers’ products.

Valve Options

No matter which model is preferred, there are two choices of valves that can be used in each case. The volcano vaporizer easy valve, as the name suggests, is a low-maintenance option which is provided with an attached balloon of a standard size. The solid valve is a reusable one, so that new balloons can be attached, according to taste. It requires cleaning occasionally. Otherwise, both valves are essentially the same.

Volcanic Vaporizer Easy Valve

This is the perfect option for those who would prefer not to have to undertake regular maintenance, such as attaching new balloons or cleaning the mouthpiece and the valve. A disposable option, once the valve is redundant it can be easily replaced and the only maintenance necessary is cleaning the filling chamber before it is used again.

Volcanic Vaporizer Solid Valve

Made of stainless steel, this valve is sturdy equipment and includes plastic material that is heat-resistant. The size of the balloon is according to the user’s preference, and any additional balloon material needed is relatively inexpensive. The solid valve does require some upkeep; however this is occasional rather than regular. From the outset, this is more productive in relation to its cost, but it will need some time and trouble on the part of the user.

Enthusiasts of smoking tobacco, herbal blends or other substances designed to produce legal highs often appreciate unusual accessories. After all, the advent of designer volcano vaporizer bags means that these balloons are now available in themed patterns; herbal leaves or silhouettes, for example. Smokers can enjoy the application of a similar sense of humour in terms of the styling of some of their paraphernalia, including novelty ashtrays.

An Ashtray to fit in the Palm of the Hand

The simplicity of design in palm-sized round ashtrays, available in a range of striking and unconventional colours and shapes, is appealing whether smokers roll their own cigarettes or use Rizla rolling machines for tobacco or herbal blends. Spinning ashtrays with pushdown tops are also popular as these are essentially self-cleaning, and they now come with herbal leaf or Rasta design motifs.

Traditional Options

Novelty ashtrays, for example, sometimes feature a traditional pattern based on a tartan or imitate an old-fashioned pocket watch on a fob: those that serve as snuffers often look like a dice or a Rubik’s cube.

Glass ashtrays come in a range of sizes and shapes, and a particularly ingenious device is one that looks like a conventional glass ashtray, but is cleverly designed to fit inside any standard beer bottle. It is advisable to make sure there is a little water at the bottom of the bottle, perhaps 12 millimetres or approximately half an inch, and to ensure the bottle is discarded after the cigarette stubs rise above the water line. It can then be replaced with another redundant bottle.

The law has a classification system for drugs consisting of three categories, based on the amount of danger they are considered to pose to a user. It is illegal to possess, use or sell these drugs that include heroin, ecstasy and LSD (Class A), cannabis and certain amphetamines (Class B), and GHB and ketamine (Class C). The law, under the Misuse of Drugs Act, has various punishments if a person is found to be using, in possession of or selling any of these.

There are many substances that provide the same effects as illegal drugs, or effects that are very similar. These may be types of herbs, fungi, crystals or powders, and the Misuse of Drugs Act does not control these. However most of these substances are considered illegal, under legislation currently in force for medicines. Sellers of these substances have a variety of terms used to refer to them, and they cannot be advertised, sold or supplied for human consumption. Phrases frequently used are ‘research chemicals’, ‘bath crystals’ or ‘plant food’.

Sellers of legal highs have a wide range of paraphernalia to assist with the taking of these particular drugs. They include Roor Pipes, Iolite vaporizers, rolling machine Rizla, glass ashtrays, the snuff bullet blizzard and hookahs.

Other useful accessories include bongs and pipes, grinders and stash pots, digital scales, lighters and spinning ashtrays. Many such products have been developed for their novelty and aesthetic design and, as well as being highly practical, have an added ornamental value.

Snuff was once kept in special ‘snuff boxes’, often beautifully designed and crafted and taken out, perhaps from a waistcoat pocket, when planning to sniff or share a dose.

Nowadays, although there are still many types of ‘snuff box’ available, and some antiques are much sought after, snuff bullets are the usual choice for the snuff user. Snuff bullets are also known as sniffer bullets and are easy and handy to use. They come in a range of sizes and shapes, weigh very little and thus are easy to carry around.

Shaped, as their name suggests, like a bullet, single shot doses of snuff may be delivered conveniently just by turning a dial. A popular version of this is the snuff bullet blizzard, easily portable as it is very lightweight, and able to deliver the appropriate dose of snuff as required.

How to Use

The base of the snuff bullet blizzard is unscrewed and the container filled with snuff or another appropriate legal herb. The container is closed and the arrow on the side twisted so that it is pointing downwards. The bullet is then held upside-down and given a flick. This empties some snuff into the inner compartment. Then, ensuring the arrow is pointing up, the bullet is turned back upwards, and the sniffing hole is now at the top. The snuff can now be inhaled directly through the nose or tapped out onto a wrist to be sniffed as required.

Hookah pipes are a way of smoking tobacco or other mixed herbal ingredients where the substance being smoked has been cooled by water before being inhaled. This large water pipe originally came from India, but is particularly associated with the Middle East, especially Iran and Turkey. Its popularity with smokers of legal substances has grown over the years as it also offers the opportunity to be shared socially.

Hookahs are referred to by many names: the hubble bubble pipe, shisha or narghile being quite common. The pipes come in many different shapes and sizes, some with ornate decorations that make them attractive as ornamental, as well as practical, pieces.

Using a Hookah Pipe

At the base of the pipe is a glass vase that is filled with water, and a down stem is submerged. At the top of the pipe, tobacco is heated then smoke is produced and is sucked through a hose down the stem into the water in the vase at the bottom. The smoke then rises above the water and into the opening of the hose port, then reaching the mouth of the smoker.

Smokers who use hookah pipes do not need to use glass ashtrays or other similar products like spinning ashtrays, though many will have a range of paraphernalia depending on which legal high they are using. A hookah is not easily portable, so other accessories such as Roor Pipes or a Rizla rolling machine are more likely to provide easier access to the required substance if on the move.

It is well known that smoking is extremely bad for your lungs, whether it is tobacco or other legal highs. One of the reasons for this is that smoking generally involves the substance being burnt and you inhale the smoke, leading to you breathing in carcinogens and other nasty toxins.

With vaporisers, however, the substance is not being burned, but heated and therefore you avoid breathing in many of the damaging; overall, it is perceived as being a healthier way to smoke. There are various vaporisers on the market, but the Iolite is ahead of its time and is available in the form of an extremely convenient hand held device.

This vaporiser runs on lighter fluid and heats up to the desired temperature within 45 seconds, making it quick, easy to use and very portable. The internal chamber holds 500g of your favourite legal high and will continue to vaporise the herbs for approximately 15 minutes.

The device is sold in an array of colours and has its own carrying case, so you can take it anywhere discreetly. It also has its own accessory package, which includes cleaning materials, spare herb containers and spare mouthpieces.

The Iolite vaporiser is available to buy on many websites and is fast becoming one of the most popular products of its kind. It does not come cheap, but in comparison with its competitors it is still good value and worth every penny.

The bong or a water pipe is a filtration device designed to help smoke a variety of substances, including legal highs such as herbal blends and tobacco. The bong is similar in principle to a hookah pipe, but is easier to carry around and stores away in smaller places. It has been used as a means of smoking substances for thousands of years and has remained relatively unchanged. Bongs and their counterparts are used all over the world, but particularly in Thailand, Laos and Africa.

The bong allows the user inhale cool smoke, which is safer for the lungs and mouth and generally more pleasant. The vapours travel through the water and the user inhales it from the mouthpiece at the top of the device. Studies suggest that some of the mind-altering properties are lost in this process, so the user will have to inhale more smoke in order to have the same effect. This may result in having to use more of the legal substance than regular tobacco smoking.

There are many different types and sizes of bongs available on the market today and buying them is simple, especially online. In many shops bongs are classed as water pipes or smoking pipes, because it is illegal to sell any paraphernalia that is linked to illegal drugs, which is often the case with the bong. However, it is perfectly legal to buy and own a bong, as long as you are not smoking illegal substances. Other devices that are similar include Roor Pipes and chillums, which are also legal to use.

Although legal highs are widely used, it does not mean that your safety is guaranteed when you use them. Legal highs cannot be sold for human consumption and many outlets state that they are for research or scientific purposes only. This is the only way that the thousands of online suppliers can sell legal highs.

It is important to realise that since many legal highs are designed to mimic illegal drugs and that they can be as strong, if not stronger than the real thing. Therefore many people become ill or suffer undesirable effects, just as they would from illegal drugs. The truly worrying fact about legal highs is that there is very little research carried out on them. As a result, we know almost nothing about their long-term effects on health.

In addition, you may be purchasing a legal high that has components of illegal drugs, unbeknownst to you. This may find you getting into serious trouble if caught with the drug, even though you bought it believing it to entirely be legal. This is a great concern to the UK government and criminal justice department and possibly as soon as autumn 2011, new laws could be introduced banning some currently legal highs altogether.

If you are buying and using legal highs, ensure that you are in familiar surroundings, not mixing them with alcohol and always with people that you regard as friends or whom you trust. Remember that different drugs affect people in varying ways. It is also worth noting that using devices such as the Iolite can prevent you breathing in noxious gases when inhaling vaporised drugs.

Herbal highs refer to organic compounds and is a term covering all legal recreational drugs, rather than specific substances. Users of herbal highs should always try to verify the ingredients, as it is easy for a manufacturer to substitute other substances for herbs and get away with it, so always be cautious.

Types of Herbal Highs

One of the most common and popular herbal highs is Salvia Divinorum, which is a plant-based hallucinogenic drug that is also used by some native tribes as a healing substance. This drug, which is smoked, often through a pipe or bong, enables the user to become disassociated with reality, feel at ease and relaxed and often induces laughing. Varying doses are recommended, depending on how many times the user has previously smoked the substance.

Another popular herbal high is Red Vein Indonesian Kratom, which is either drunk in a tea or smoked. This is a legal substance, which is said to relax the user and help to reduce anxiety. However, it can become addictive and caution is advised in order to prevent the user from becoming dependent on the substance to relax and reduce stress.

Both these substances can be smoked in devices such as the Eclipse Vape-2O Vaporizer or by being rolled into herbal cigarettes, using a Rizla rolling machine.

Some herbal highs may become illegal, in time, as more research is carried out on their long-term effects on people’s health. You are therefore advised to keep an eye on the Government’s website, in the Crime and Justice section, just to be sure.