Herbal Smoke

Many people all over the world are now totally hooked on a brand new trend - herbal smoking, also referred to as legal bud smoking. Legal bud smoking involves inhaling the fumes of countless herbs, after lighting them, through either specialized pipes, chillums or just by rolling them in cigarette paper.

Legal Buds

A multitude of these herbs have been branded as legal buds. These herbs are those that have been used for centuries in shamanic potions and traditional tribal teas. Herbal smokes are prepared by blending two or more of these herbs in varying proportions. Most popular herbs used are salvia divinorum, hops, chamomile, damiana, ginseng, kava kava, wild dagga, passion flower, star of Bethlehem, skullcap, Artemisia vulgaris, scotch broom tops, betel nut powder and much more. Some manufacturers also call them marijuana alternatives. These blends also contain powders from the mugwort, in order to hold the mixture together.

A number of these ingredients, such as the Ayurveda and Persian, are well-known for their medicinal properties and even used in medicinal branches. Some of them are secretly grown. The salvia divinorum has been utilized for years and years by the shamans of the Aztec civilization for its healing properties. The skullcap is another herb which supposedly relieves a person of worries and tensions. Damiana and ginseng are reputed aphrodisiacs.

Herbal Incense Blends

American manufacturers procure these herbs in the Hawaiian Islands or Mexico, where the herbs are grown secretly plantations. There's a huge market in the usa for smokers of legal buds. Some claim that it gives the same high as smoking pure marijuana, but this is really a misconception. Many of these herbs do provide 'highs', but they're very short-lived.

Herbal smoke is inhaled through pipes or chillums. Native Indians just roll the mixture in a betel leaf. Some people use cigarette paper for rolling the mix.

The general perception is that herbal smoking is not as harmful as tobacco-smoking. Herbal cigarettes do not contain tobacco, and hence no nicotine. Some manufacturers even claim that these herbal blends don't affect children in almost any adverse manner. However, health experts have a different perspective. Burning leaves release tar, which clogs the lungs during a period of time. Herbal mixtures may not be as addictive as tobacco, however they do create a craving along with a desire to smoke them repeatedly. The only real proven effect of herbal smoke is its numbing effect of the nervous system, but health activists still hold herbal smoke in contempt.