Searching into the traditional "gran'ma" recipes, into the old medics lists or into phytotherapy, some of the early clubbers tried to find the funniest products and put it in a "drug habits packaging". But, to tell the truth, none of these earthy kits were really popular at any moment (herbal pills, natural weed, etc...).

Then they explored new composants recently created or used for other purposes until then. Smart Drugs & Nutrients, written in 1990 by Ward Dean, M.D., and John Morgenthaler is the first book ever released about smart-drugs. This book is a how-to-do-it catalog of natural drugs and legal nutrients which have been shown to improve cognitive and resistance function. Vitamins, riboflavin, tiamin, zinc, L-fenilalanin, etc...

First to launch the idea, in 1992 appeared the genuine Smart Drinks powder (to blend with water) made by Durk Pearson & Sandy Shaw (yes, the singer of the 60's). It tasted like Tang (remember that orange powder in the 80's?) Mostly made of vitamins and L-Phenilalanine plus a few C vitamins, it wasn't very active but has been very popular for a couple of years.
They still promote today some sorts of "life extension" nutrients. If you believe that eating some powders and weird cereals will extend your life, then visit www.life-enhancement.com, that's them.

 

First illegal, in 1994 arrived the popular energy drinks. For sale first in the north of Europe, the party people of Holland & Germany discovered the real power of those cans called Red Bull, Black Booster, XTC, Flying Horse, Red Devil, Dark Dog, Power Poppers (green and looking like washing liquid), Virgin Energy, ... (1997: most of them felt down. Stay: Red Bull, Dark Dog & Jeans... 2003: Remain only Red Bull, Hype, and some new brands). Sold in Belgium since november 1995, their taste surprised everybody (as Coca-Cola did in 1945). Some are sincerely disgusting, some others are really nice, but all are actually working... maybe even too much.
It usually contains: Guarana (brazilian fruit, close to coffeine), coffeine, vitamins & Taurine. Taurine IS NOT an animal product! It is only an amino-acid and does play an important role in bile acid metabolism (good for digestion!)... but Taurine does not make you dance in any way. The coffeine, C-Vitamin and plant extracts are the only reasons why it makes users more awaken.
And mind your stomach, don't drink those energy-drinks too much... it may attack badly because of too much acidity. Some doctors also currently ask to prevent from the cocktail energy+vodka, since the energy drink makes people think they're not drunk... when they actually are really fucked up.
You can now find it in most of the clubs, in the smart bars, or in a lot of Night Shops.
It can replace the coffee at noon of in the afternoon... that's its best purpose.
Funny Frenchspeaking Canadian page about some energy drinks:
pages.infinit.net/commune/texte_smart_drinks

And there was some other products that came up in some shops and bars... some of them were 100% natural... and some others were hard chemical drugs but *not yet* illegal.

GHB (Gamma Hydroxy Butirate, dangerous and liquid) was legal until summer 1996: some of the effects of alcohol mixed with some of the xtc effects (smiley face, sudden dancing energy,...) but too many problems happened because of the human excess:
on the small bottle of GHB was a notice saying: "with this, do NOT drink alcohol, do NOT take any other chemical product, and never use more than 1/2 bottle (1/3 for women). Never drive". There was even a phone number where to refer for informations.
Of course, some crazy clubbers drank alcohol on it, took it with other drugs, and though that a single dose was too few for them. Results: light comas, stomach troubles, car crashes, and a death in year 2000. Now, GHB is illegal since 1996. But the bottles are still coming... and WITHOUT ANY NOTICE! It was just a dangerous product if uncontrolled, now it's even a tool for criminals.
It is also called Liquid Ecstasy, but it's NOT ecstasy in any way! It's just a painkiller & sleepmaker for surgery operations (anesthésique médical)... Take really care of it, some hoolies use it to make girls falling in collapse!
Liquid, no colour, almost no taste,... keep it out.

Off The Jungle in 1996 was producer of legal highs in Belgium. Passioned by the plant powers, the target was to find how to enjoy yourself trough the natural ways. He was doing: Smoking Blend: a legal natural blend with a smell of indian cigars. Herbal Energizer: sweet powering pills. Guarana Seeds: ancient way to get awaken. Seeds of Datura, Ephedra Sinica, Passiflora Incarnata, Peyote, ... Nut the concept wasn't doing big sales... so it stopped in 1998.

Cloud 9 contains indonesian ephedrin extract (Ma Huang) + maltodextrin + magnesium stearate. 2 caps gives a real boost & keeps you awaken. There is no "coming up" feeling (you realize that it's working, but you don't feel it coming). Effect seems to look like strong coffee but with high moments. Don't use it if you're: pregnant, nursing, having high blood pressure, having thyroid disease, diabetic, having prostate difficulties, already too nervous. Cloud 9 is not for sale in France because ephedrin is not legal there.

D&E Ephedra SuperCaps are 850 mg of pure natural ephedra extract, sold in many bars and smart shops in the Netherlands and even in Belgium. It's the strongest single dose ephedra product on the current market. SuperCaps contain 8% Ephedrine Alkaloids per capsule, delivering 68 mg of naturally occurring ephedrine. 2 caps is a maximum. It works well to keep the night up and leaves no bad feelings, but it could be dangerous for people already suffering from the heart.
A certain amount of US weight-loss-diets recommend the use of ephedra extract since years, and it caused many troubles. To be complete, the American lawyers office Kennet B. Moll (specialists in medical prosecutions) stated many dangers coming from a regular use of ephedra (or Ma Huang). Hypertension was the single most frequent adverse reaction, followed by tachycardia, stroke and seizures. NEVER use if pregnant or nursing. These are of course the worst situations... it is not supposed to be dangerous at first.
-- www.supercaps.com/europe/
-- www.kbmoll.com/invest/iv_meta.htm


Herbal Ecstasy, 2CB, Glow, Jeans, Virus,... hundreds of new names and products appeared from 96 till 98 in several belgian smart shops. Some soft, some stronger, we cannot make our mind about all of them. Thus, just take care of your body, you need it to keep the mind healthy.


Since the pressure has been kept by authorities on the rare shops we had in Belgium, it seems they all closed their doors. So if you need informations about all this, we're not able to give you any good references in Belgium anymore. By the way there's plenty of "Smart Shops" in Holland, mostly in Den Haag, Utrecht and Amsterdam.

Mail us to tell if you know belgian Smart shops.
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These are two Belgian associations
informing about medications, legal and illegal drugs
www.druglijn.be (nederlandstalig)
www.modusvivendi-be.org (frenchspeaking)