While I cannot locate the exact place, I believe at one point I have referred to the legal high market as the Wild West. Here, a few months in, it is obvious and apparent that the description is apt. In the past few weeks, let alone the months that I’ve been writing this blog, things have rapidly changed. As I said, however, it’s par for the course. Companies I review one week are gone the next, products disappear almost as soon as they are released, emergency bans and legal action take out whole sections of the industry in single strokes. Change is truly the only constant. So where do things stand now, at this point in time? Who is still going strong, who is gone, who has made heroic comebacks, and what do legal high aficionados have to look forward to in the coming months? This seems as good a point as any to take a breath and ponder what we’ve learned.

Firstly, I came across a bit of news I wanted to share. As you know, I tend to frequent Legal Drug Reviews as a good source for companies and specific product information, not to mention the entertainment value. When I checked them out earlier today, I found they mentioned an amazing deal that is too amazing not to mention here. Now, I know I haven’t officially reviewed Am-Hi-Co other then saying their products have a positive rep and they seem to handle their business well, so I don’t want you to mistake this for me pitching them. This is more a Black Friday type deal, like if I tell you that you can hit up Best Buy and get a giant flatscreen for fifty bucks, that’s not me advertising Best Buy as it is conveying to you that there is one hell of a sale going on. The sale is so good I’d tell you about it almost regardless of where it was. Except for Herbal Smoke Shop. I wouldn’t take that swill if they were giving it away.

Anyway, the Am-Hi-Co sale. Excuse me shamelessly stealing LDR’s graphic.

This is, no doubt, a response to the impending DEA emergency action that is poised to ban the three primary “amino acid blends” or “organic extracts” or whatever we want to call the active ingredients that are found in pretty much every bath salt and pill available from everyone, not just Am-Hi-Co. Am-Hi-Co just seems to be the only one capitalizing on the impending doom by having this massive sale. Whether this is because the whole DEA ban thing is overblown or because other companies aren’t paying attention (or are playing things close to the vest), I have no idea. It’s a moot point, though, because regardless of what happens later, right now you can save a ton of money on some at least halfway decent stuff.

As far as the ban is concerned, that train isn’t showing signs of stopping. In case you missed last week’s post, the DEA 22 days (give or take) away from instituting an emergency ban on the 3 most common research chemicals found in bath salts and most pills, with the eventual and likely goal of making them Schedule 1 controlled substances. Basically this one act is set to completely demolish most of the bath salt and pills industry. Do bear in mind that something like 20 states have already passed state level bans on at least one, if not all three, of the compounds, and also that we’ve seen this sort of “crisis” before. About this time last year we saw a similar reaction against the JWH family of compounds, the then active ingredients in most herbal incenses like Spice and K2. Well, here we are a year later and there is still good herbal incense to be had. That’s because the industry is flexible, and all we have to do is move a molecule around and a compound is suddenly different and legal again. As long as there is a demand, someone will find a way to fill it.

This does not, however, mean that companies can afford to be lazy. Again, look at K2 and Spice. You may be able to get incense, but those two, which were arguably the top of the game, are long gone. They quite obviously made the mistake of assuming customer loyalty. When they dried up as a source, they were apparently hoping their “loyal followers” would stick around until they could sell something passable again. No such luck. Companies that hadn’t proactively prepared for the ban found that the bulk of their customers deserted them while they were trying to get back on their feet. As a result, most of these companies never got back up at all.

That being said, despite ample warning of this impending change, very few salt and pill providers seem to be doing anything about it, and I fully expect history to repeat itself. As far as salts and pills are concerned, expect the field of competition to narrow significantly at the end of the month and start looking for a good supplier now, one you know will still be around. Be prepared, it looks like it’s going to get messy.

Herbal incense and, to a lesser extent, natural herbal highs, are, conversely, doing rather well. Anyone who has siblings can tell you why. After all, when mom is busy yelling at your brother or sister, they’re, ostensibly, not looking at you. The man has been so busy dealing with the “bath salt crisis” that herbal incense has sort of fallen off the radar. These days, if you do hear about it, it’s usually only in conjunction with bath salts, as the two go hand in hand in some circles. Ironically, the organic ingredients in a lot of incense and the active ingredients in actual herbal blends, like salvia, damina, kanna have fared worse then the actual research chemicals, at least as far as bans have been concerned. This has understandably upset those who chose more natural routes for their intoxication, or those who use the plants as a component of their spiritual practice. For the most part, though, they are still readily available from sites like IAmShaman, who is just as deserving of their beaming review as when I first wrote it.

The occasional speed bump aside, herbal incense is, for the time being, your best bet. The market has begun to diversify with new (hopefully legit) companies offering consumers a wider range of selections then they’ve had in the past. With less legal heat to worry about, many have focused instead on refining and improving their selection and making what’s good better. DaBrand, while still touting their terrible theme song (and almost naked Karen McDougal, at least there is that), has polished a little bit. Their selection is still conspicuously slim but the chatter seems to say that they’ve focused on making what seems like a meager selection the best it can be. Domestic Oddities has rebuilt and added some products, however they look just as messy and unprofessional as before. K2, despite being gone for almost a month, is back and offering…well, the same abysmal nothing as before. None of the rest (IO, Spike99Store, etc) have changed in ways worth noting, if at all.

Who knows how long this will last, however. Once the lumbering civic machine “quashes” bath salts, the pendulum might swing back toward incense and start making trouble over there again. It truly is impossible to say where things will go even in the span of a few weeks, but for right now incense is up, bath salts are down, and Am-Hi-Co’s sale is practically on fire.