# That "legal herb" shit that I always see online - what IS it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 8, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-legal-herb-shit-that-i-always-see-online-what-is-it/459253 "2008-08-08T02:24:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-legal-herb-shit-that-i-always-see-online-what-is-it/459253/1 "2008-08-08T02:24:28Z")
There are all these popups and banners online that advertise “legal herb” and “herbal smoking blends.” [Herbal Smoke Shop](http://herbalsmokeshop.com/) is one such website. They have all these herbs that look, superficially, like weed, or variations of it, although they are obviously not. Like…[Hawaiian Haze.](http://herbalsmokeshop.com/hawaiian-gold.html) What the fuck IS that stuff? Regardless of whether or not it will get you high, it certainly looks visually appealing. Has anyone ever actually smoked this stuff? What does it do to you? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-legal-herb-shit-that-i-always-see-online-what-is-it/459253/2 "2008-08-08T02:29:35Z")
Also: they offer [“solid concentrate”](http://herbalsmokeshop.com/black-magic.html) stuff which I suppose is their take on hash. “Not for the weak.” Uh…hmmm…I may have to take them up on that… The description says, “Ultra potent very flavorful smoke, compiled of ultra thick concentrated choice exotic herbal oils and resins.” In other words, “we’re not going to tell you what the fuck is actually in this, we’re just going to hope that you buy it.” ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-legal-herb-shit-that-i-always-see-online-what-is-it/459253/3 "2008-08-08T02:38:19Z")
A friend ordered some in high school. It tasted a _lot_ like the herbal cigarettes he used to smoke. It tasted a lot more floral than like pot, though. The hash is probably made the same way as regular hash, just with the herbal plant. The cigarettes always had catnip listed as an ingredient; I wonder if it’s a type of hybrid? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-legal-herb-shit-that-i-always-see-online-what-is-it/459253/4 "2008-08-08T03:09:18Z")
Possibly [Salvia divinorum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia_divinorum). ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-legal-herb-shit-that-i-always-see-online-what-is-it/459253/5 "2008-08-08T03:33:40Z")
You’re usually not going to come across salvia unless it’s specifically labeled so. It’s illegal in several states now, so retailers treat it a little differently than the stuff nobody cares about. Generally the herbal blends sold by headshops, both online and off, are mixtures of things like damiana, passion flower, and wild lettuce extract. These are very, very mildly psychoactive substances that have been sold to gullible stoners under the guise of a legal high since at least the '70s. Virtually everyone who purchases them ends up feeling ripped off. Repeat customers are not terribly common. More recently, however, a product called “Spice” has been getting favorable reviews from trustable people. I’ve never tried it specifically because the company keeps the ingredients a closely-guarded secret and I’m not going to smoke something if I have no idea what’s in it (plus it costs as much as actual marijuana). The most plausible theory about its contents that I’ve heard is that it has the same stuff as the rip-off blends, but in a far more concentrated version, which significantly enhances their formerly mild effects. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-legal-herb-shit-that-i-always-see-online-what-is-it/459253/6 "2008-08-08T03:36:29Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] Possibly [Salvia divinorum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia_divinorum). [/QUOTE] Good Og no, the highs aren’t even remotely similar. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-legal-herb-shit-that-i-always-see-online-what-is-it/459253/7 "2008-08-08T03:44:10Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] Also: they offer [“solid concentrate”](http://herbalsmokeshop.com/black-magic.html) stuff which I suppose is their take on hash. “Not for the weak.” Uh…hmmm…I may have to take them up on that… The description says, “Ultra potent very flavorful smoke, compiled of ultra thick concentrated choice exotic herbal oils and resins.” In other words, “we’re not going to tell you what the fuck is actually in this, we’re just going to hope that you buy it.” [/QUOTE] Possibly a mixture that includes wild lettuce ([picture](http://psychoactiveherbs.com/catalog/images/wild_lettuce1.jpg)), lettuce opium [(Cecil’s column on the stuff](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/050107.html)), or even opium-scented incense.