With the stressful lives that people around the world lead, it’s no surprise that they love to find ways to relax. It’s also no surprise that many of them turn to substances to aid them. Yet many substances have been made illegal, and the ones that are legal, such as alcohol and tobacco, are often addictive and have serious negatve impacts on health. Thus, a market was created for legal alternatives to such ‘mellowing’ drugs like marijuana, which has been illegal for a long time. These alternatives, called “Legal Bud“, “Herbal Incense“, or “Herbal Smoke”, can be found all over the internet.
HISTORY
The first “Legal Bud” popped up on the market in 2004, in Europe, when a head shop in London, called the Psyche Deli, started selling a ‘legal’ herbal alternative to marijuana, called “Spice”. The idea soon caught on, with generics and rival brands all popping up. Unfortunately, labratory research indicated that the claims that the legal buds were completely herbal was false, finding instead that they contained synthetic cannabis compounds, which mimicked the effects of Marijuana. These synthetic compounds have been banned through much of Europe and Australia, and have been placed on the Controlled Substances schedule in the United States.
REVITALIZATION
After the synthetic compounds were banned, the legal bud industry underwent a revitalization, this time claiming to legitimately rely on herbs only, and do not contain any of the banned chemicals. King Chronic Herbals is one such brand that has lead the charge for ‘clean’ legal buds, even going so far as to have its product tested by a lab to prove that they don’t contain synthetic cannabis, which they proudly display on their site. Legal Buds is also another website that prides itself on having 100% legal alternatives to marijuana that are composed of herbs, rather than synthetics. International Oddities is another site that sells legal buds, and offers a huge variety of different types.
BRANDS
There are many different brands of legal bud available – so many that it may seem overwhelming to someone looking to start. How do you know what to choose? The problem is, is that you really don’t. Many review websites are biased, or contain shady information. There are, however, several very well known brands of legal buds on the market, that may be a good place to start – one thing to watch out for, however, is potency. If you’re just beginning, a high potency bud is probably not your best bet. Another problem, however, is that most places don’t really market buds that are good for beginners, or those which are low potency. Thus, experimenting with a small amount maybe a safe bet. Additionally, inquiring for good beginner quality bud in online forums or through friends might be a safer way to try legal buds. Never try legal buds if you are not in good health, as it’s not known what the long term effects of legal bud are.
One well known brand is Orange Krush, which is named after the herb itself. Sold primarily on Legal Buds, the herb comes from South America, and, according to the website, is a very potent smoke. Dutch Haze is another brand, which is touted as extremely similar to real marijuana. This type of bud is considered one of the most popular, and has many repeat customers.
King Chronic has their own blends of herbal smokes, and rather than work with many different compositions, they work with different flavers. They have two blends – the normal blend, and the red-eye, which is purportedly stronger than the normal one. Normal comes in two ‘flavors’ – Chronic and Cherry, while the red eye comes in many more, such as peach, strawberry, and apple.