And we still don't sell K2, Spice, etc. BECAUSE

Wow, the sad stories about the synthetic cannabinoid drug-laced "incense" keep coming. We've met:

• The Fort Myers mom whose middle-schooler got hooked and is going sideways,
  
• The lady concerned that her new joint pain is somehow related,
  
• The guy who was told it was all-natural, got addicted, and ended up spending over $100 a day,
  
• The couple worried about losing a job because the boss smokes the stuff all day and his personality / behavior are changing,
  
• The guy who got locked up and was seriously FIENDING for his daily fix...

And there are researchers now suggesting this family of drugs suppresses the human immune system, stays in your system much longer than other smoke toxins, and one or more metabolites are likely to be carcinogenic.

Please people, do your research about what you put in your body FIRST. While some people notice no ill effects, some definitely do. This is NOT a harmless substance... and for those shop owners selling it anyway "because it says not to consume it so they're stupid if they do not my fault"... Karma, baby. More info in the following post.

On the bright side, Purple Ringer Smoke Shop still sells the same LEGAL HERBAL ALTERNATIVE SMOKES that we've sold for the past 10 years. Mostly from International Oddities, these are blends of traditional plants that many of our customers find helpful to relax at the end of the day. We make it easy for you to try these no-nicotine, non-chemical plant smokes with affordable "sample size" bags. While not everyone likes it, many do and a sample size is the perfect way to find out.

We've also bagged some sample sizes of the cigarette rolling tobacco and pipe tobacco, including the Organic Kentucky Select so you can check them out. Did you know you can make your own cigarettes for less than $20 a carton?? Come on in we'll show you how!

Oh yah, and a bunch of Pink Floyd Tshirts, Grateful Dead Tshirts, and Bob Marley Tshirts are going on sale this week. Also new Bob Marley Beach Towels in stock. Sage bundles - white sage and desert sage, large and small for smudging - are here!

Cigar Humidors

Purple Ringer smoke shop in Fort Myers stocks Cigar Humidors - a great gift for cigar smokers - and they're also handy to store your Roll-Your-Own Cigarette Tobacco.

Humidors are airtight wooden boxes lined with spanish cedar - an aromatic wood that is well-suited to the humid environment necessary to keep cigars fresh. We stock a variety of humidors from travel-sized boxes that hold 4-10 cigars to 50-count humidors.

Nicer humidors feature a hygrometer - a device that measures relative humidity inside the box. There are a variety of humidifying devices available, from Blimpies to moisture discs to pouches that can be refreshed with distilled water or a special solution. Prices range from $25 to over $100.

Djarum Clove Cigars... Cheap!

The Purple Ringer stocks all available flavors of Djarum filtered clove cigars. Yeah, they're not quite the same... but still popular! Djarum cloves are available in Black, Black Cherry, Black Vanilla, Special, Mild, Bali Hai and Splash. Menthol will be available soon. Our prices are below MSRP so give us a call or swing by and check it out!

We also stock a good variety of other little cigars in singles, 2-packs, 5-packs and cartons from Philly, Swisher Sweet, Black N Mild, White Owl and Dutch Masters.

Organic Tobacco!

We stock American Spirit pouches of Organic Rolling Tobacco, RAW Organic Hemp papers, and have Kentucky Select Organic Pipe Tobacco arriving April 1st.

Now in stock in our Lifestyle section, Zion Rootswear for men and women including Bob Marley Tees, Sublime, Janis and Jimi. Also new Tie-Dye from Cali Kind - hand dyed in California by peaceful people: long and short wrap skirts, T-shirts, shoulder bags, and floppy hats.

Why we don't sell K2, Spice, "Herbal Incense"

All these little packets of "herbal incense not for human consumption" contain synthetic cannabinoid drugs - research chemicals - in varying doses. We're pretty sure folks buy this stuff with the intention of smoking it, and far as we know, it's not legal and it's not right to sell people "natural herbs" plus a mystery drug that isn't on the label.

These chemicals/drugs have never been tested on humans, and best of all, ORIGINATE IN CHINA AND KOREA OR GARAGE LABS. There are maybe 50 different chemicals and over 100 brands now. We get unsolicited samples in the mail in little plastic bags from people 'making their own' we never heard of!! Chinese drywall, anyone??

Now banned in Kansas, North Dakota (by emergency decree); Missouri, Oklahoma and a few other states are next. Homeland Security is seizing shipments when they find them under FDA regulations that prevent the sale of unapproved drugs.

The reason these chemical products are ILLEGAL IN AMSTERDAM, going to be banned in UK soon, and illegal in about 10 other countries is the volume of calls to poison control, the ER visits, side effects, and outright abusive addictive behavior of users. We've had people in the shop complaining of rapid heart rates, panic attacks, paranoia, migranes... two high school students in Sarasota passed out at their schools with "silent seizures" and were taken to the hospital on the same day just a couple months ago (they each mixed the synthetic cannabinoid with pain pills).

These chemicals seem to be addictive and tachyphylactic (you develop a resistance and need a little more each time). A friend of a friend in Arizona smoked that brand named after a mountain for about 3 months - had horrible withdrawals - and now it's been 3 weeks and he can't enjoy a natural experience. He hopes this is temporary.

One of our regular customers, a physician, told us about 8 months ago to let everybody know:
"If you have any HEART or RESPIRATORY conditions, or if you are using ANY kind of prescription drugs you should not smoke this stuff."

Educate yourself about anything you put in your body, and not just the forums. Do a Google News search on "synthetic cannabinoids" and you'll find enough links and information to make an informed decision. Check Erowid.

If you still want this stuff you can get it online or at other places, just not at the Good Old Purple Ringer.

Peace.

Tobacco Pipes at the Purple Ringer

What's rolling at the Purple Ringer in Fort Myers? Traditional Tobacco Pipes - you know, the big ol' Italian briar pipes you see in the movies and TV shows from the 50's and 60's. We've always had a few in stock but now they're making a comeback. We carry Dr. Grabow briar pipes, Missouri Meerschaum Corncob Pipes in small (pony) and large sizes, Grabow pipe filters, SuperValue Pipe Tobacco, and have some Samuel Gawith and a couple other premium brands of pipe tobacco coming in this week.

Special orders for pipes and pipe tobacco are possible - stop by and see us and we'll see what we can do.

We also have a good selection of cigarette rolling tobacco: American Spirit Original Blue Pouches and tins, American Spirit Perique pouches, Bali Shag Blue pouches and tins, as well as Top pouches in regular and menthol. Our most popular rolling tobacco is American Spirit Organic Rolling Tobacco pouches.

We carry cigarette tubes and shooters (injectors) for making your own cigarettes. We also sell filters and about 100 kinds of rolling papers including some hard to find brands like Smoking Maiz and Abadie.

February Update

Great things afoot at the Purple Ringer... Fabulous glass arrived this month - we've never been more proud of the inventory! New HiSi, a big batch of acrylics, Retro Ceramics by Twisted, Mako Octopus - purple amber - arriving next week. Off to the show end of this month, then big changes in store late March through April.

DejaVu Shisha back in stock for the hookah people, including everybody's favorites Sour Apple and Razzle Dazzle. 44mm coals will be on the next order.