Street Legal

It’s one of those wonderfully Irish ironies. While you can’t leave the house these days without a shellsuited young gentlemen offering to sell you E or a bit of blow, finding the “legal high” alternatives has been nigh on impossible. Well, until now that is.

Mindful of the multi-million pound business they’ve become in the UK, Cannabiz have started stocking such exotically-named smart drugs as Bliss eXtra, Road Runner Super, EX:1 and Salvia Divinorum, which Olaf Tyaransen of this parish road-tested earlier this year.
Despite all of these being 100% legal and not for sale to under-18s, the Temple Bar, Dublin business has come in for more than its fair share of unwanted attention.
“The shop has been tortured since we opened six months ago,” says Martina who runs Cannabiz with partner Finbar (they’re not keen on surnames). “The Drugs Squad, Customs, the Customs Investigation Unit… they’ve all been in.
“We’re very aware of our responsibilities and ID anyone whose age we’re not certain of. Breaking the law isn’t an option because we’d be closed down straight away.”
One of the claims made on behalf of legal highs is that there’s no resultant comedown.
“The feedback we’ve got from our customers – who range from 18 to people in their 40s and 50s – is that they wake up the next day feeling totally normal and clear-headed,” is the Cannabiz line.

Legal status aside, the most important thing to find out about herbal highs is: do they do what they say they do on the packet?
Cannabiz’ best-seller at €12 for four x 800mg capsules is EX:1, a “100% natural and pure Sida Cordifolia extract that works by activating a whole group of stimulant receptors (producing) six to eight hours of remarkable physical and emotional energy, with sharp mental clarity, rushes and euphoria.”
We’re not so sure about sharp mental clarity, but a two-capsule dose certainly produced an edgy sort of buzz and surprisingly strong amphetamine-style rushes. Not the Ecstasy-style high that one might have expected, but a passable speed substitute.
Sida Cordofolia is also the main ingredient in Bliss eXtra and Road Runner Super, which again retail at €12 but this time for 3 x 800mg capsules.
While the former produces a noticeable uplift in mood and plenty of shivers, the latter’s “overall stimulation of the mind, body and spirit” is akin to downing a double espresso on an empty stomach. The verdict on Road Runner Super – stick to Bewley’s.
Far from being dreamt up by an errant chemist, Sida Cordifolia has been around for over 2,000 years and is widely used in the treatment of bronchial asthma, colds, flu and nasal congestion.
Older still is Salvia Divinorum, a dried Mexican herb that was used by the Aztecs for shamanistic purposes.
“The Salvia – which is a good deal more expensive at €40 – mainly sells to people who know about it,” Martina resumes. “In fact, I’d nearly prefer those who don’t not to take it because it’s a hallucinogen. I find it a wee bit scary.”
Despite going for the strongest 10X variety and smoking it through a pipe as recommended, we didn’t experience any of the “short, intense, bouncy hallucinogenic effects” promised on the package. Indeed, after getting through half of the 1g vial, all we felt was a mild cannabis-style high that quickly faded.
Other people we’ve spoken to are more complimentary with one, a civil servant, describing it as “the perfect Sunday afternoon drug.” With Australia, Denmark and Finland recently banning it, the time for making your own mind up about Salvia Divonorum may be running out.
“We haven’t heard anything about it being banned in Ireland, but if it is we’ll obviously stop selling it,” Martina concludes. “For the time being, though, it’s a steady seller that people keep coming back for.”