I’m feeling nostalgic about low grade cannabis, after watching this poignant little piece about Soap Bar!

I lived off this stuff at uni back in the early years of the 2000s. It got me through my dissertation (and I still got a First overall…) and help me navigate the finer points of avant-garde theatre.

I’d heat it with my 20p lighter, crumble and mix it with rolling tobacco or – if I was feeling flush – a Marlboro Light (!). It was all I could get my hands on; courtesy of a local 18 year old who we nicknamed ‘The Original’ (as there was a scant number of others we could procure from) – which morphed into ‘The Origg’.

Knowing what I know now, it was *terrible* quality product – as this trip-down-memory lane vid details. It was packed with of all kinds of nastiness – engine oil, liquid plastic, rubber, boot polish, and more (!). I can recall pulling out strips of black bin bag from my stash on more than one occasion. 

It was cheap. Like £10 an eighth cheap. But it did the trick. 

Fast forward nearly a quarter of a century and, while product choice may be more sophisticated on the UK illicit market, there’s little to protect the casual rec consumer choosing to procure in this manner. 

From plant matter sprayed with all kinds of synthetic shite, to packs of Haribo doused with Christ-Knows-What; denying the UK a legal adult use market is the problem. 

As the Soap Bar story shows, people are going to consume regardless of quality. So in the interests of public health and safe access, FFS, let’s regulate the market – or at least ease the criteria needed to qualify for medical cannabis.