Legal Highs in Japan

[spacetiger]

Does anyone have much experience with the sorts of things you can buy in head shops in Japan? I understand shrooms were outlawed about a decade ago, but there seem to be quite a few reports on the Web of people still being able to buy them. I guess there's lots of things you can buy that aren't legal however. I've tried a thing called 7th Heaven. It's a powder that comes in a small plastic bag. The label is in English. On the back is a warning in Japanese. This says:

This is a plant-based incense.

It should only be used for its intended purpose.

It will affect different people differently.

If you use it the other than ints intended purpose, we're not responsible.

It tastes like shrooms, & it definitely has speedy effects & dilates your pupils, but I haven't really tripped out on it. Having said that, I've only had it twice & only once sober. The first time was my first trip to Japan. I'd just flown in the night before & me & my mate bought a bag in Ame-mura & took it to Kobe & shared it using a can of coke to get it down. Bleech! Was quite wired & out of it & was waiting for the visuals to kick in but they never really did. I do remember as it started to get dark seeing the odd silver sparkle out of the corner of my eye but that's as good as it got. After that we got on the beers, then after catching the last train back to Osaka we bought another bag to split between us which kept us up all night.

The second time was when I was living in Japan & I was already drunk & me & the same guy split a bag. Again, kept us up all night & felt pretty trippy but no genuine psychadelic effects. The guy in the head shop where we bought it the first time said 7th Heaven was the most trippy one he had.

Anyway, my plan is probably to buy another bag of this stuff (assuming I can still find it) & take it to Tokyo with me where I'm going to hire a bike for a day & drop it with some miso soup (gotta be better than with coke or beer) a couple of hours into my circuit of central Tokyo.

My concerns are that I'm hiking the Kiso Valley a couple of days before I get to Tokyo & I might end up having it there - then want some more for my bike ride but not know where to buy in Tokyo. Also, if I can't find the same stuff & I end up buying some synthetic speed substitute & end up biking around manically grinding my jaw & muttering to myself for eight hours.

So... anyone have much experience with the sorts of things you can buy in head shops in Japan?

[Agitator]

So... anyone have much experience with the sorts of things you can buy in head shops in Japan?

There's another kind of head you can buy here which is perfectly legal under local laws.

Alternatively,
A.

[YokohamaTommy]

My concerns are

Your concerns should be that that Synthetic MJ (Known as K2 or Spice) or whatever the stuff you took was can kill you.
It's unregulated and therefore you have no way of knowing what the hell you are getting or what it does to your body/brain.
You are a complete retard and deserve everything you get if you do not heed this advice and steer clear of that $hite.

Sorry, but you live in a country where you best put your drug wants to the curb.
Unless you wish to go to jail that is.

[Effected After]

I watched a documentary on Spice recently (it was part of a series called Drugs.inc). They had a hidden camera in and were talking to the manufacturers, and they asked the guy if it was safe, and he said 'we don't know'. So it's kind of a crap-shoot. No one actually knows what's in these and if there are any long-term effects, or what they are.

I looked into it, and the closest thing I could find to actual confirmed reports of people dying were suicides, I didn't find any people who had actually died from the drug specifically.

[YokohamaTommy]

I didn't find any people who had actually died from the drug specifically.

I have one anecdotal;
It caused my cousin to have a cardiac arrest and he technically died on the Emergency room table for 30 seconds before they brought him back.

[spacetiger]

Your concerns should be that that Synthetic MJ (Known as K2 or Spice) or whatever the stuff you took was can kill you.
It's unregulated and therefore you have no way of knowing what the hell you are getting or what it does to your body/brain.
You are a complete retard and deserve everything you get if you do not heed this advice and steer clear of that $hite.

Sorry, but you live in a country where you best put your drug wants to the curb.
Unless you wish to go to jail that is.

Huh? Isn't Spice some kind of synthetic cannabis? I've never, nor would I ever, try that. I smoked plenty of good herb & took many quality Es when I was living in Japan, but that was in the past & I'm not looking for illegal drugs when I visit in a few weeks. What I'm looking for are psylocibe (sp?) mushrooms. They used to be legal in Japan, now they're not, but I hear you can still buy them in some head shops & the cops don't really care. Anway, I've been thinking about it & am probably not going with this 7th Heaven stuff again 'cause it cost Y7,000 & that was back in 2005. I'm going to check out some of the shops in Ikebukuro & Shibuya & see if some groovy cat can lay some good times on me.

[Agitator]

HThey used to be legal in Japan, now they're not, but I hear you can still buy them in some head shops & the cops don't really care.

I for one look forward to your blog series "Life Inside Japanese Prison". It's going to be a good read. And remember, we'll be laughing at you, not with you.

I could not care less what substances, legal or otherwise, you choose to use. But only a complete idiot would come to Japan to do it.

Expectantly,
A.

[Effected After]

Huh? Isn't Spice some kind of synthetic cannabis? I've never, nor would I ever, try that. I smoked plenty of good herb & took many quality Es when I was living in Japan, but that was in the past & I'm not looking for illegal drugs when I visit in a few weeks. What I'm looking for are psylocibe (sp?) mushrooms. They used to be legal in Japan, now they're not, but I hear you can still buy them in some head shops & the cops don't really care. Anway, I've been thinking about it & am probably not going with this 7th Heaven stuff again 'cause it cost Y7,000 & that was back in 2005. I'm going to check out some of the shops in Ikebukuro & Shibuya & see if some groovy cat can lay some good times on me.

Spice isn't synthetic cannabis. Is a bunch of herbs with some designer drugs sprinkled on to get the person high. The fake mushrooms you speak of are I believe actual psychotropic mushrooms, just not as good as psilocybin. This 7th heaven stuff sounds to me like a designer drug as well, based on your comments of it being some powder, but I don't know the product myself, so I have no clue.

[spacetiger]

...I could not care less what substances, legal or otherwise, you choose to use...

So why'd you bother replying, even? You think you're a comedian? Take a hike, loser.

[spacetiger]

Spice isn't synthetic cannabis. Is a bunch of herbs with some designer drugs sprinkled on to get the person high. The fake mushrooms you speak of are I believe actual psychotropic mushrooms, just not as good as psilocybin. This 7th heaven stuff sounds to me like a designer drug as well, based on your comments of it being some powder, but I don't know the product myself, so I have no clue.

OK thanks. Actually, I'm getting bored with the whole idea of paying more than a nights accomodation for second rate drugs. I'm very temperamental though, so I'll have to see what happens on the day. I mean, beer is great, but not so good for long biike rides.

[Phantom Jack]

So I'm aware this is late information, but to anyone who might stumble across this, as of now I have located four of these shops in the Osaka Nanba area, one of which my or may not be functioning. The first is on the third floor of the brown brick building that houses the family mart in Sankakukoen, in Amerikamura, Nanba, it's called Top15. There's another spice shop on the top floor, they're pricier but double as an adult toy store. Another one is also in Nanba, in a grey tiled building with a winding stair case circling the elevator shaft. The first couple floors are hair salons, then there's a used clothes store I think it was called "digeridoo" this is straight down one of the streets heading out of Sankakukoen, which one I'm not sure. Go explore. The last is in the shotengai in Sennichimae, south of Sankakukoen. This last shop has been elusive lately, but is also the cheapest.
Experimented with a blend called Super Snake: White and another called Greenland, the latter was less disorienting and jittery, but has a shorter duration and lower intensity.
Good hunting.

[iamsen]

In all seriousness, a friend of mine made pots with pot.

Took him over two years to get the right baking temperature so it wouldn't crack/disintegrate. I don't know if he still does it, he got some VC but last I heard it just wasn't selling very well. It's kinda legally gray. He imported the seeds from India and cultivated them himself. I sometimes wondered if the school even knew what he had growing in that little garden outside the workshop. Definitely a case of 'don't ask don't tell'. Which was stupid because there was a huge crack down on drugs few years back in Kobe and some of our students were among those arrested.


edit: Tigerbalm! Oh how I loathe thee.