Head Shop

Posted by R. Berg on February 25, 2003

In Reply to: Head Shop posted by TheFallen on February 25, 2003

: : : Any idea as to the etymology of the term "head shop"? Thanks for any clues.

: : "Head Shops" existed way back a long time ago in the mid to late sixties.
: : They catered to a customer who liked to feed his or her head with mind or mood altering substances.

: There were still one or two head shops around in the late 70's in London, usually masquerading as something else. I particularly remember a wonderfully titled shop called "Dark They Were And Golden-Eyed" in London's Soho, just off Wardour Street, that sold books, smoking accessories and pamphlets dealing with esoteric plant care. Sadly as time went by, they decided to drop the herbaceous-related lines, and reinvented themselves as Forbidden Planet, which sold nothing but books.

Such establishments may have been called head shops because people who favored one substance or another were called potheads, acidheads, meth-heads, and so on.

• Head, head shop ESC 02/25/03
  • Head, head shop Nigel 03/05/03