Head shop
Encyclopedia
A head shop is a retail outlet specializing in drug paraphernalia
used for consumption of cannabis
, other recreational drugs, legal highs, legal party powders and New Age
herbs, as well as counterculture
art, magazines, music, clothing, and home decor; some head shops also sell oddities, such as antique walking sticks.
Products purchaseable in these outlets typically include pipes; pipe screens; bong
s (often called water pipes in countries with drug paraphernalia
laws); roach clips; vaporizers; rolling papers; rolling machine
s; scales
or balances; blacklight-responsive posters; incense
; cigarette lighters; legal drugs such as whipped-cream chargers (which contain nitrous oxide
) and Salvia divinorum
(illegal in some countries and US states); and products such as the Whizzinator
claiming to give false negative results for drug urinalysis
tests; as well as items to enhance sex
, such as dildo
s and vibrators
.
in New York City
's East Village
, in West Los Angeles, and in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Sources cite the Psychedelic Shop on Haight Street
in San Francisco as the first head shop in the United States
. Operated by United States Army
veteran Ron Thelin and his younger brother Jay, it opened on January 3, 1966. Four months later Jeff Glick opened "Head Shop" on East Ninth Street in New York City.
Head shops served as an important outlet for underground newspapers
and the underground comix
of Robert Crumb
and other counterculture cartoonists, which had little access to the established channels of newsstand distribution. The shops' 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 acid rock
and eco-friendly products.
and a motion was passed requesting the Government to regulate the sale of products. Some politicians were in favour of outlawing the shops while others argued this would be a "huge mistake" which would allow illegal street dealers to thrive.
During early 2010, many incidents of firebombing and arson against head shops took place around the country. Some attacks were traced to disgruntled drug dealers. One petrol bomb attack occurred in the home county of the then Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern, and hours later, plans for legislation for regulation of head shops got underway.
Many head shop products became illegal in Ireland on 23 August 2010 when the new Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances) Act 2010 became law. The Act empowered Gardaí
(Irish police) to seek court orders to close head shops suspected of selling drug-like products, with the onus on the owners to prove they are not doing so.
, 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 substances. The sale of certain drug paraphernalia is considered illegal in some states. Head shops often argue that their products are not illegal drug paraphernalia because they are intended for use with herbal highs, tobacco
, and other legal substances.
By the early 2000s, with the passage of state laws allowing for medicinal marijuana, head shops have reemerged regionally and on the Internet
to service that health market.
In many head shops, a sign will be posted (and often reiterated verbally) stating that customer references regarding the use of the shop's products for illegal drug use will result in suspension of all sales for that time period, and/or removal of the customer from the shop. Head shops often place signs stating that the products sold are "for tobacco use only" or "not for use with illegal substances".
Online headshops often make their users comply to strict disclaimers before they are allowed to shop with them. Users must often agree to such disclaimers before they can even view any products. K2 incense has become a popular alternative to marijuana available at many headshops. This product is marketed as incense (not intended for human consumption), but it's placement in headshops lends itself to this abuse. Many states have now banned some or all of these products.
s are shops, prominently found in the Netherlands
, which sell psychoactive
substances in addition to the drug paraphernalia
found in head shops.
Paraphernalia
In modern usage, the word paraphernalia most commonly refers to apparatus, equipment, or furnishing used in or necessary for a particular activity as in, "Beth is such an avid sports fan that her walls are covered with baseball paraphernalia"....
used for consumption of cannabis
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
, other recreational drugs, legal highs, legal party powders and New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
herbs, as well as counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
art, magazines, music, clothing, and home decor; some head shops also sell oddities, such as antique walking sticks.
Products purchaseable in these outlets typically include pipes; pipe screens; bong
Bong
A bong is a filtration device/apparatus generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco,or other herbal substances.In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and more portable...
s (often called water pipes in countries with drug paraphernalia
Drug paraphernalia
Drug paraphernalia is a term used, often with a slightly negative connotation due to its use in criminal law field e.g. "possession of drug paraphernalia", to denote any equipment, product, or material that is modified for making, using, or concealing drugs, typically for recreational purposes...
laws); roach clips; vaporizers; rolling papers; rolling machine
Rolling machine
A rolling machine is a machine that is designed to roll either tobacco or cannabis into individual cigarettes or joints. To roll a cigarette with cannabis, one must break up the smoking material as well as remove any stems so they won't puncture the paper...
s; scales
Weighing scale
A weighing scale is a measuring instrument for determining the weight or mass of an object. A spring scale measures weight by the distance a spring deflects under its load...
or balances; blacklight-responsive posters; incense
Incense
Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
; cigarette lighters; legal drugs such as whipped-cream chargers (which contain nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas or sweet air, is a chemical compound with the formula . It is an oxide of nitrogen. At room temperature, it is a colorless non-flammable gas, with a slightly sweet odor and taste. It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anesthetic and analgesic...
) and Salvia divinorum
Salvia divinorum
Salvia divinorum is a psychoactive plant which can induce dissociative effects and is a potent producer of "visions" and other hallucinatory experiences...
(illegal in some countries and US states); and products such as the Whizzinator
Whizzinator
The Original Whizzinator is a product intended to fraudulently defeat drug tests. The Whizzinator comes as a kit complete with dried urine and syringe, heater packs , a false penis and instruction manual...
claiming to give false negative results for drug urinalysis
Urinalysis
A urinalysis , also known as Routine and Microscopy , is an array of tests performed on urine, and one of the most common methods of medical diagnosis...
tests; as well as items to enhance sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, such as dildo
Dildo
A dildo is a sex toy, often explicitly phallic in appearance, intended for bodily penetration during masturbation or sex with partners.- Description and uses :...
s and vibrators
Vibrator (sex toy)
Vibrators are devices for the body and skin, to stimulate the nerves for a relaxing and pleasurable feeling. Some vibrators are designed to ergonomically stimulate erogenous zones for erotic stimulation.-History:...
.
History
American head shops originated in the 1960s in cities with high concentrations of college-age youth, often growing out of independently owned poster or candle stores. Historically, US head shops proliferated on St. Mark's PlaceSt. Mark's Place (Manhattan)
Saint Mark's Place is a street in the East Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is named after St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery on 10th Street at Second Avenue. St. Mark's Place, which is a section of 8th Street, runs from Third Avenue to Avenue A...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
, in West Los Angeles, and in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Sources cite the Psychedelic Shop on Haight Street
Haight Street
Haight Street, in San Francisco, is perhaps best known as the principal street in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, also known as Upper Haight. It stretches from Market Street to Stanyan Street, at Golden Gate Park. It is named after California pioneer and exchange banker Henry Haight ....
in San Francisco as the first head shop in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Operated by United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
veteran Ron Thelin and his younger brother Jay, it opened on January 3, 1966. Four months later Jeff Glick opened "Head Shop" on East Ninth Street in New York City.
Head shops served as an important outlet for underground newspapers
Underground press
The underground press were the independently published and distributed underground papers associated with the counterculture of the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and other western nations....
and the underground comix
Underground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
of Robert Crumb
Robert Crumb
Robert Dennis Crumb —known as Robert Crumb and R. Crumb—is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded...
and other counterculture cartoonists, which had little access to the established channels of newsstand distribution. The shops' popularity eventually waned with the aging of that era's baby boomer
Baby boomer
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom and who grew up during the period between 1946 and 1964. The term "baby boomer" is sometimes used in a cultural context. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve broad consensus of a precise definition, even...
generation, and with the retail mainstream discovering and co-opting aspects of that market niche, such as acid rock
Acid rock
Acid rock is a form of psychedelic rock, which is characterized with long instrumental solos, few lyrics and musical improvisation. Tom Wolfe describes the LSD-influenced music of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Iron Butterfly, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Cream,...
and eco-friendly products.
Ireland
Head shops exist and are legal in Ireland, and were reported by authorities to be opening at a rate of one per week in January 2010. The legality of the shops was discussed in the Irish SenateSeanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...
and a motion was passed requesting the Government to regulate the sale of products. Some politicians were in favour of outlawing the shops while others argued this would be a "huge mistake" which would allow illegal street dealers to thrive.
During early 2010, many incidents of firebombing and arson against head shops took place around the country. Some attacks were traced to disgruntled drug dealers. One petrol bomb attack occurred in the home county of the then Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern, and hours later, plans for legislation for regulation of head shops got underway.
Many head shop products became illegal in Ireland on 23 August 2010 when the new Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances) Act 2010 became law. The Act empowered Gardaí
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
(Irish police) to seek court orders to close head shops suspected of selling drug-like products, with the onus on the owners to prove they are not doing so.
United States
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 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 substances. The sale of certain drug paraphernalia is considered illegal in some states. Head shops often argue that their products are not illegal drug paraphernalia because they are intended for use with herbal highs, tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, and other legal substances.
By the early 2000s, with the passage of state laws allowing for medicinal marijuana, head shops have reemerged regionally and on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
to service that health market.
In many head shops, a sign will be posted (and often reiterated verbally) stating that customer references regarding the use of the shop's products for illegal drug use will result in suspension of all sales for that time period, and/or removal of the customer from the shop. Head shops often place signs stating that the products sold are "for tobacco use only" or "not for use with illegal substances".
Online headshops often make their users comply to strict disclaimers before they are allowed to shop with them. Users must often agree to such disclaimers before they can even view any products. K2 incense has become a popular alternative to marijuana available at many headshops. This product is marketed as incense (not intended for human consumption), but it's placement in headshops lends itself to this abuse. Many states have now banned some or all of these products.
Smart shops
Smart shopSmart shop
A smart shop is a retail establishment that specializes in the sales of psychoactive substances, usually including psychedelics, as well as related literature and paraphernalia...
s are shops, prominently found in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, which sell psychoactive
Psychoactive drug
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
substances in addition to the drug paraphernalia
Drug paraphernalia
Drug paraphernalia is a term used, often with a slightly negative connotation due to its use in criminal law field e.g. "possession of drug paraphernalia", to denote any equipment, product, or material that is modified for making, using, or concealing drugs, typically for recreational purposes...
found in head shops.
See also
- Alternative cultureAlternative cultureAlternative culture is a type of culture that exists outside or on the fringes of mainstream or popular culture, usually under the domain of one or more subcultures...
- Cannabis smokingCannabis smokingCannabis smoking involves inhaling vapors released by heating the flowers and subtending leaves of the Cannabis plants, known as marijuana. Alternatively, the cannabis plant flowers may be finely sifted producing kief, a powder especially rich in the oil-glands or trichomes which contain the...
- Grow shopsGrow shopsGrow shops, also known as head shops, are retail stores in which people can acquire drug paraphernalia for the cultivation and consumption of cannabis, also known as marijuana.-Products and supplies:...
- One hitter (smoking)
- Underground comixUnderground comixUnderground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
- Underground filmUnderground filmAn underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre, or financing.-Definition and history:The first use of the term "underground film" occurs in a 1957 essay by American film critic Manny Farber, "Underground Films." Farber uses it to refer to the work of...
- Underground musicUnderground musicUnderground music comprises a range of different musical genres that operate outside of mainstream culture. Such music can typically share common values, such as the valuing of sincerity and intimacy; an emphasis on freedom of creative expression; an appreciation of artistic creativity...
- Underground pressUnderground pressThe underground press were the independently published and distributed underground papers associated with the counterculture of the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and other western nations....
External links
- "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"