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35-547: The district generally encompasses the neighborhood surrounding Haight Street , bounded by Stanyan Street and Golden Gate Park on the west, Oak Street and the Golden Gate Park Panhandle on the north, Baker Street and Buena Vista Park to the east and Frederick Street and Ashbury Heights and Cole Valley neighborhoods to the south. The street names commemorate two early San Francisco leaders: pioneer and exchange banker Henry Haight , and Munroe Ashbury,

70-651: A hit that year. The Monterey Pop Festival in June further cemented the status of psychedelic music as a part of mainstream culture and elevated local Haight bands such as the Grateful Dead , Big Brother and the Holding Company , and Jefferson Airplane to national stardom. A July 7, 1967, Time magazine cover story on "The Hippies: Philosophy of a Subculture," an August CBS News television report on "The Hippie Temptation" and other major media interest in

105-536: A capitalistic society; they felt that by eliminating the need for money, people would be free to examine their own personal values, which would provoke people to change the way they lived to better suit their character, and thus lead a happier life. During the 1967 Summer of Love , psychedelic rock music was entering the mainstream, receiving more and more commercial radio airplay. The Scott McKenzie song " San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) ," became

140-537: A member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 1864 to 1870. Both Haight and his nephew, as well as Ashbury, had a hand in the planning of the neighborhood and nearby Golden Gate Park at its inception. The name "Upper Haight" is also used by locals in contrast to the Haight-Fillmore or Lower Haight . The Beats had congregated around San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood from

175-597: A range of standard consumer products such as clocks, books, tins of cleaning powder, and toilet brushes which have hidden compartments for cannabis and non-camouflaged "stash boxes" which are tins or wooden containers for storing marijuana; and legal highs such as whipped-cream chargers (which contain nitrous oxide ) and Salvia divinorum (both of which are illegal in some countries and some US states for recreational purposes). Some head shops also sell items used for home cultivation of marijuana plants, such as hydroponic equipment and lights and guidebooks on cultivation. Since

210-581: A spot to purchase marijuana and LSD , which was essential to hippie life in Haight-Ashbury. Along with businesses like the coffee shop The Blue Unicorn, the Psychedelic Shop quickly became one of the unofficial community centers for the growing numbers of hippies migrating to the neighborhood in 1966–67. The entire hippie community had easy access to drugs, which was perceived as a community unifier. Another well-known neighborhood presence

245-407: Is legal, cannabis dispensaries often double as head shops. Notably, in the state of Florida , items "designed for use in ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing cannabis, cocaine, hashish, hashish oil, or nitrous oxide into the human body" are illegal. At the same time, "pipes primarily made of briar, meerschaum, clay, or corn cob" are legal. Smart shops are shops (prominently found in

280-641: Is the principal street in San Francisco 's Haight-Ashbury district, also known as the Upper Haight due to its elevation. The street stretches from Market Street , through the Lower Haight neighborhood, to Stanyan Street in the Upper Haight, at Golden Gate Park . In most blocks it is residential, but in the Upper and Lower Haight it is also a neighborhood shopping street, with residences above

315-437: The underground comix of Robert Crumb and other counterculture cartoonists, which had little access to the established channels of newsstand distribution. The shops' popularity eventually waned with the aging of that era's baby boomer generation, as well as a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Miller v. California , that found that local communities could decide their own First Amendment standards concerning obscenity. In

350-699: The 1980s, some head shops have sold clothing related to the heavy metal or punk subculture , such as band T-shirts and cloth patches with band logos, studded wristbands, bullet belts, and leather boots. Other items offered typically include hashish pipes, "one hitter" pipes ; pipe screens; bongs (also referred to as water pipes ); roach clips (used for smoking the end of a marijuana "joint"); vaporizers used for inhaling THC vapor from cannabis; rolling papers ; rolling machines ; small weighing scales ; small ziplock baggies; cannabis grinders (i.e. herb grinders ); blacklight -responsive posters and blacklights; incense ; cigarette lighters ; "stashes", which include

385-674: The 2000s, some head shops also sell e-cigarettes and the flavoured liquids used with these devices. American head shops originated in the 1960s in cities with high concentrations of college-age youth, often growing out of independently owned poster or candle stores. Historically, U.S. head shops proliferated on St. Mark's Place in New York City 's East Village , in West Los Angeles , in San Francisco 's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, and in Chicago 's Old Town . Sources cite

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420-559: The Chutes on Haight Street between Cole and Clayton Streets between 1895 and 1902 and the California League Baseball Grounds stadium opening in 1887, the area became a popular entertainment destination, especially on weekends. The cable car, land grading and building techniques of the 1890s and early 20th century later reinvented the Haight-Ashbury as a residential upper middle class homeowners' district. It

455-515: The Edwardian and Victorian houses were divided into apartments to house workers. Others were converted into boarding homes for profit. By the 1950s, the Haight was a neighborhood in decline. Many buildings were left vacant after the war. Deferred maintenance also took its toll, and the exodus of middle class residents to newer suburbs continued to leave many units for rent. In the 1950s, a freeway

490-734: The Psychedelic Shop on Haight Street in San Francisco as the first head shop in the United States . Operated by United States Army veteran Ron Thelin and his younger brother Jay, it opened on January 3, 1966. Four months later Jeff Glick opened "Head Shop" on East Ninth Street in New York City. Also in 1966, The Birmingham Balloon Company opened at 113 Fry Street in Denton, Texas . From 1968 to c. 1975, head shops served as an important outlet for underground newspapers and

525-457: The activities in the area were reported almost daily. The Haight-Ashbury district was sought out by hippies to constitute a community based upon counterculture ideals, drugs, and music. This neighborhood offered a concentrated gathering spot for hippies to create a social experiment that would soon spread throughout the nation. The first head shop , Ron and Jay Thelin's Psychedelic Shop, opened on Haight Street on January 3, 1966, offering hippies

560-475: The bars we accepted, and now we are no longer hippies and never were. After 1968, the area went into decline due to hard drug use and a lack of policing, but was improved and renewed in the late 1970s. In the 1980s, the Haight became an epicenter for the San Francisco comedy scene when a small coffee house near Haight Street, in Cole Valley , called The Other Café , 100 Carl Street at Cole Street (currently

595-471: The community. The Summer of Love attracted a wide range of people of various ages: teenagers and college students drawn by their peers and the allure of joining a cultural utopia; middle-class vacationers; and even partying military personnel from bases within driving distance. The Haight-Ashbury could not accommodate this rapid influx of people, and the neighborhood scene quickly deteriorated. Overcrowding, homelessness, hunger, drug problems, and crime afflicted

630-493: The completion of the Haight Street Cable Railroad in 1883, what is now the Haight-Ashbury was a collection of isolated farms and acres of sand dunes. The Haight cable car line, completed in 1883, connected the east end of Golden Gate Park with the geographically central Market Street line and the rest of downtown San Francisco. As the primary gateway to Golden Gate Park, and with an amusement park known as

665-589: The country. Some attacks were traced to disgruntled drug dealers. One petrol bomb attack occurred in the home county of the then Minister for Justice , Dermot Ahern, and hours later, plans for legislation for regulation of head shops got underway. Many head shop products became illegal in Ireland on 23 August 2010 when the new Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances) Act 2010 became law. The Act empowered Gardaí (Irish police) to seek court orders to close head shops suspected of selling drug-like products, with

700-432: The dead hippie . Mary Kasper explained the message of the mock funeral as: We wanted to signal that this was the end of it, don't come out. Stay where you are! Bring the revolution to where you live. Don't come here because it's over and done with. Ron Thelin stated that Haight-Ashbury was: Portioned to us by the media-police, and the tourists came to the zoo to see the captive animals, and we growled fiercely behind

735-492: The district; property values had dropped in part because of the proposed freeway. The alternative culture that subsequently flourished there took root, and to some extent, has remained to this day. The mainstream media's coverage of hippie life in the Haight-Ashbury drew the attention of youth from all over America. Hunter S. Thompson labeled the district "Hashbury" in The New York Times Magazine , and

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770-436: The ground floor shops. It is named after California pioneer and exchange banker Henry Haight (1820–1869). This California road–related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Head shop A head shop is a retail outlet specializing in paraphernalia used for consumption of cannabis and tobacco and items related to cannabis culture and related countercultures . They emerged from

805-783: The hippie counterculture in the late 1960s, and at that time, many of them had close ties to the anti-Vietnam War movement as well as groups in the marijuana legalization movement like LeMar, Amorphia, and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws . Products sold may include magazines (e.g., about cannabis culture, cannabis cultivation, tattooing, and music), clothing, and home décor (e.g., posters and wall hangings illustrating drug culture themes such as cannabis, jam bands like The Grateful Dead , Phish , psychedelic art , etc.). Some head shops also sell oddities, such as antique walking sticks and sex toys . Since

840-440: The hippie subculture exposed the Haight-Ashbury district to enormous national attention and popularized the counterculture movement across the country and around the world. The neighborhood's fame reached its peak as it became the haven for a number of psychedelic rock performers and groups of the time. The members of many bands lived close to the intersection. They not only immortalized the scene in song, but also knew many within

875-505: The investigation, government officials also targeted customers of the shops, arresting those who were in possession of drugs like cannabis and heroin . Chong was caught by sending shipments through the mail. Today, online head shops have also become prevalent; there are hundreds of head shops willing to sell their products online. The legality of cannabis varies widely in the United States, but in states where medical cannabis

910-414: The late 1950s. Many who could not find accommodation there turned to the quaint, relatively cheap and underpopulated Haight-Ashbury. Haight-Ashbury would later become notable for its role as one of the main centers of the hippie movement. The Summer of Love (1967) and much of the counterculture of the 1960s have been synonymous with San Francisco and the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood ever since. Before

945-508: The mid-1970s, the sale of drug paraphernalia was outlawed in many places, and the distribution network for underground comics and newspapers dried up. In addition, the retail mainstream discovered and co-opted aspects of the head shop's market niche, such as acid rock and eco-friendly products. Head shops exist and are legal in Ireland, and were reported by authorities to be opening at a rate of one per week in January 2010. The legality of

980-594: The neighborhood. Many people left in the autumn to resume their college studies. On October 6, 1967, in Buena Vista Park, those remaining in the Haight staged a mock funeral, Digger happening , "The Death of the Hippie" ceremony. News of the event was released by Ron Thelin on October 4, 1967, two days after the arrest of members of the Grateful Dead. Men shaved their beards and filled caskets to symbolize

1015-406: The onus on the owners to prove they are not doing so. In the United States , head shops are legal so long as they only sell items used for legal substances. Shops typically place signs stating that the products sold are "for tobacco use only" or "not for use with illegal substances". In many head shops, a sign will be posted (and often reiterated verbally) stating that customer references regarding

1050-480: The restaurant Crepes on Cole ) became a full-time comedy club that helped launch the careers of Robin Williams , Dana Carvey , and Whoopi Goldberg . The Haight-Ashbury Street Fair is held each year attracting thousands of people, during which Haight Street is closed between Stanyan and Masonic to vehicular traffic, with one sound stage at each end. Haight Street Haight Street ( / ˈ h eɪ t -/ )

1085-557: The shops was discussed in the Seanad Éireann , and a motion was passed requesting the Government to regulate the sale of products. Some politicians were in favour of outlawing the shops whereas others argued that prohibiting the purchases of legal intoxicants would be a "huge mistake" which would allow illegal street dealers to thrive. During early 2010, a number of incidents of firebombing and arson against head shops took place around

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1120-744: The use of the shop's products for illegal drug use will result in the suspension of all sales for that time period, and/or removal of the customer from the shop. In some shops, simply saying the word " bong " is grounds for removal from the shop. Head shops have been targeted by the Drug Enforcement Administration . In 2003, The U.S. Department of Justice indicted fifty-five people on charges of selling drug paraphernalia in Idaho , Texas , Iowa , Pennsylvania , Florida and Ohio as part of Operation Headhunter and Operation Pipe Dreams , including comedian Tommy Chong . During

1155-533: Was the Diggers , a local "community anarchist" group known for its street theater , formed in the mid to late 1960s. One well known member of the group was Peter Coyote . The Diggers believed in a free society and the good in human nature. To express their belief, they established a free store, gave out free meals daily, and built a free medical clinic, which was the first of its kind, all of which relied on volunteers and donations. The Diggers were strongly opposed to

1190-514: Was one of the few neighborhoods spared from the fires that followed the catastrophic San Francisco earthquake of 1906. The Haight was hit hard by the Depression , as was much of the city. Residents with enough money to spare left the declining and crowded neighborhood for greener pastures within the growing city limits, or newer, smaller suburban homes in the Bay Area. During World War II ,

1225-519: Was proposed that would have run through the Panhandle, but due to a citizen freeway revolt , it was cancelled in a series of battles that lasted until 1966. The Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council (HANC) was formed at the time of the 1959 revolt. The Haight-Ashbury's elaborately detailed, 19th century, multi-story, wooden houses became a haven for hippies during the 1960s, due to the availability of cheap rooms and vacant properties for rent or sale in

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