The Happy Herb Shop

I was feeling rather adventurous so I decided to pay a visit to Happy High Herbs while passing through West End. The interior is pretty much as one would expect: a combination of new-age funk and downtown grunge. The employees seemed accustomed to groups such as my own coming in to gawk and admire the stores unconventional nature. With a name like Happy High Herbs I couldn't help but look at every object with a feeling of excitement and suspicion. "What will do the job", I thought to myself as I inspected the packets of mysterious herbal powders that hung from the walls. I inspected a bowl of lollipops for a long period of time wondering if they were more then just your standard lollipop. Slowly I began to understand how this store works. It doesn't take a genius to realize that the "popular" products were selling out or there were simply none left to be had. One such example is the powdered wormwood used to create absinthe. I chuckled to myself imagining hundreds of Brisbanites bootlegging absinthe from their bathtubs at home. I'll admit, I was a little too shy to ask directly "which products will make me happy and high" and I also wasn't sure if I was actually interested in buying anything. With this in mind, for those of you who mean business shopping at Happy High Herbs I urge to either ask for assistance from the shopkeepers or to ask some friends what you should be looking for. Don't assume you'll jut know.

You can't help but notice that this unusual shop is here, mostly because when you see the words 'Happy Herb Shop' along with noticeably colourful decor your curiosity as to what's inside is involuntarily piqued. The combination of these characteristics also makes me feel like I should be sneaking in to the store unseen, but luckily there's nothing to be frowned upon (or to make you frown) in this place. In case you haven't figured from the name, these guys are the herb specialists, offering herbal solutions to pretty much any problem you may have. Their herbs come in a variety of forms; teas, skin care and I assume some are smokable. It's a small shop but the space is used well and it's full of hundreds of little bags featuring different mixtures of things grown in the earth designed to help you achieve a desired effect; detox, better sleep, laughter. It's certainly interesting and worth a visit.

Happy High Herbs is a fun shop to visit. It has a really groovy feel to it and it definitely suits West End. This is a small boutique that offer "herbs", the legal kind. I came here with a few friends to buy a Hookah after hearing a Lebanese friend talk to me about it. The Hookah (or Shisha) is a type of large smoking pipe that is used to smoke herbal tobacco. What is so interesting about this is that you can get apple, chic-mint, berry and many more flavours of herbal tobacco! This is very popular in the Middle East and is done socially (some hookahs will have multiple pipes). Most of the hookahs sold here are fairly small but still work.The lady working in the store was really nice and helped my friends and I pick the Hookah for us. There is a very hippy -almost Jamaican- vibe in the store, which is really cool. You can get tie-die bags, peace sign badges and all sorts of hippy merchandise from here too. If you are in West End, you might as well visit Happy High Herbs as it is a fun place to stop by. And yes, it is all legal.

Happy High Herbs is the sort of store that people ask in whispers, "Is that legal?" but this is no Stoner's Sanctuary. Obviously many people will want to enter this store and find something that gets them high. It's in the name, of course. However, the boost you'll get from drinking, smoking or otherwise absorbing mugworts, passionflower or yerba mate will be very minor, or nonexistent. The above-mentioned herbs are supposed to be drunk as tea, and I've tried the latter two in tea format. The taste is adequate, though I didn't feel any of the intended effects (passionflower is advertised as a sleep-aid). What you will find in this store is a lot of hippy-style trinkets. There are cheap and cute little alternative badges at the front counter, trippy paintings, candles, books on mythology and astrology and hemp clothing. There are also lollipops containing alleged stimulants, though after purchasing one (around $3.50) I can't say I felt, well, stimulated. It's a fun little experience walking into this world, but the name of the store is misleading. (Then again, if it wasn't misleading it would probably be shut down).

A friend recommended this store a few years back. I came across this friend through mutual interests surrounding the Afghan / Iraq war & a shared opposition to them. As such she introduced me to this store and the teas, coffees, nuts, creams, ointments etc, that the store had to offer. Years ago I wouldn't have given this place a second thought, chalked it up to "hippies" playing shop. But I've evolved and greatly appreciate the alternatives on offer and those who bring them to us. My favourite is the cacao powder; superb with ice cream.

Friendly staff, nice range of herbal smoking products and a 15 min parking spot around the corner makes a lunch time visit from Milton a snap to do in 30 mins.