It started with an uncomfortable laugh.
At a smoke shop tucked near Circle and Platte—location withheld for discretion—my wife and fellow reporter struck up a conversation with the woman working the counter while I photographed a curious product called Hydroxie. The clerk, candid and quick-witted, shared a story that felt quintessentially Colorado Springs. A customer, clearly under the influence, had once grabbed a glass bong off the shelf and proceeded to insert it deep into her mouth in a bizarre, suggestive gesture. The clerk, unfazed, informed her that the bong was now hers—and rang it up.
The surreal comedy of the moment stood in stark contrast to the product we were investigating: Hydroxie, a chewable tablet containing 7-Hydroxymitragynine, a compound far more potent than it looks…