Westword
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Dear Stoner: When did smoke shops become so much more than pipes and smoking accessories? I understand some merchandise, but some of these places are selling stuff that looks like weed, ‘shrooms and boner pills now.
Call Me Todd
Dear Call Me Todd: Smoke shops have always been a land of weird trinkets and products that toe the line of legality. Sure, you’ll always find glass, papers, incense and posters, but it’s the gray-area stuff that really brings in the new traffic. When I was in high school, it was salvia, spice and bath salts. Then CBD came along, and now we have synthetic THC and bootleg mushroom products, which I don’t even want to touch, let alone eat. Smoke shops will get raided or stop selling products after law enforcement starts enforcing edicts, but there’s always something new and “legal” right around the corner.
Some smoke ships even have vending machines with random products made from hemp, CBD and who knows what else.
Jacqueline Collins
Plenty of glass-first smoke shops display local artists instead of selling questionable drug knockoffs, especially in Denver, but most vape and smoke shops have been sketchy places since I can remember.
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