[zingababba]

You used to be able to find some wild stuff in GNC ~20 years ago, the 'pro-hormone' era was funny.

All the cannabinoid analogs are a good example too, people just want to get high.

I do miss salvia extracts though. Being able to pick that up in a head shop was nice before it got banned.

[mullingitover]

GNC used to sell freaking GHB in the 80s and early 90s!

[sanktanglia]

you miss salvia extract??? everyone i know who has done it(myself included) their response was "never doing that again!"

[zingababba]

I know I'm an outlier in that regard. It's not the peak/thinking I'm a color I find useful, it's the coming back to reality afterwards. Salvia is an incredibly potent perception cleanser. After peak, as your default perceptions slide back into place you can catch them in the act of taking hold again. I've caught myself 'putting back on' pieces of myself I thought I could never change/always thought was unquestionable/absolute.

[NDlurker]

Salvia is great if you're in the right setting and headspace. Its been years since I used it, but I'm glad I did. There's one trip in particular that I sometimes think about and has remained a meaningful part of my life.

[jambalaya8]

Yeah, there were far better (albeit questionably legal) alternatives to caffeine or ginseng for energy back then available at places like GNC that were better than either (and not at all much stronger, just easier to metabolise for me). Ads for that stuff used to be all over Muscle and Fitness, etc. I don't think any of the new stuff ever had the level of public awareness that stuff did. It also doesn't have anyone actually caring that it is untested and unsafe. The other stuff, often self-policed.