Alright, so I didn’t really get started doing this on 4/20. It really hasn’t even been a full year I don’t think. Eh, close enough, and really, if anyone can think of a better day to do something like this, I’m all ears.

Regardless, it’s been quite the “year”. Dozens of posts and piles of comments later, we’ve seen the spectacular implosion of what was once a cornerstone of the industry, the rise of several new and serious competitors, some beefy legislative bumps, and a plethora of excitement.

Unless you’re a fan of bath salts. It was a bad year to be a salter. With all the negative press that bath salts gained this year, it was truly only a matter of time before that particular world came crashing down. By and large, the bulk of the state and local bans that came down were primarily leveled at the various powders. The few federal motions that were taken, such as the emergency DEA action later in the year, were mostly concerned with bath salts as well. As a result, most of the smaller vendors, many of whom relied on moving quantities of bath salts for their core revenue, have vanished. Some other vendors, even a few who had steered from offering bath salts, fell prey to state and local bans.

Speaking of vendors, the field has changed pretty radically. In a lot of ways, unexpectedly. Take Am-Hi-Co. One would not have thought that this time last year they would be beginning a thundering topple. Despite how easy it would be to actually build and corner the market, I never expected someone to actually step up to the challenge. A few existing contenders, such as the oft talked about Herbal Aroma Shop, have taken strides to improve themselves. Even with the marked improvements we saw, there was still more work to do. Then came Super Fun Cave, built from the ground up to trounce competition apparently. Time will tell, as they are only a few months old, but they look well poised to continue their well deserved rise in popularity.

Despite the popularity and availability of new wave products, it is still only a matter of time before things reach an inevitable head. Without other things to keep them occupied, it’s a sure bet that if nothing else the legislative beatstick will turn it’s hateful eye toward incense. Even now you see news articles cropping up with various mothers crying about neglected children finding ways to entertain themselves in the absence of parental interest.

As always, the advice is simply to enjoy it while you can and keep your fingers crossed that the party won’t end sooner rather than later, or at least, if it does, it’s replaced by a better one.