Drugs in Star Wars Movies: Spice & Death Sticks

​There are several drugs mentioned throughout Star Wars lore, in the movies, books, and tv series.

But, we’re just going to look at two mentioned specifically in the blockbuster movies that people are most familiar with.

First, we’ll look at Spice, which was first mentioned at the very beginning of the original Star Wars. When Imperial troops boarded the space ship they were on, C-3PO said to R2-D2, "We'll be sent to the Spice Mines of Kessel, smashed into who-knows-what!" Spice was also the reason Han Solo had trouble with Jabba the Hutt and ended up frozen in carbonite.

​Han Solo had been smuggling a load of Spice for Jabba the Hutt onboard the Millenium Falcon. Solo said he had an “Empire entanglement” and dumped the whole cargo. Jabba held Solo responsible for the loss of money and placed a bounty on his head.

Spice was described as, "highly prized, highly expensive, and highly illegal.” It was also called, "the plague on the galaxy; a horribly addicting drug that its victims would lie, steal, assault, and murder for." It was mined on the planet Kessel.

Next up, are Death Sticks. Death Sticks were first mentioned in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. A young Annakin Skywalker and his Jedi Master instructor, Obi Wan Kenobi were on the planet Coruscant, and while searching for a bounty hunter, they went into a popular gambling nightclub called The Outlander Club. Once inside, a shady character tried to sell Obi Wan something called “Death Sticks.” Obi Wan pulled a jedi mind trick on him and sent the man home to go rethink his life, which he did.

​Death sticks were a highly addictive and easily accessible inexpensive drug, sourced from a type of mushroom extract. Death Sticks caused a mild hallucinogen effect with the user feeling total euphoria at first use. But after the initial high, the users experience ended in a horrific twisted version of reality. With each dose, the user's life was shortened, and the successive dosages took away larger chunks from a lifespan. The death sticks came in either liquid form or dry granules. 

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