10 October 2010

Where to get your Happy Pills in Spain

Ah those crazy Spaniards and their drug legislation. These pictures are from Barcelona in Spain where – unbelievably – you can buy your (so called) happy pills by simply walking in off the Avinguda del Portal de l'Angel and helping yourself.

Now, Barcelona is well known throughout the world for being a party town, but isn’t this just a little bit in your face even in the most liberal of places? Well, yes. There is a catch. If you want your fill of happy pills here you might need to have a sweet tooth too.

Happy Pills is simply a candy store, a sweet shop – a cunning way to sell confectionaries. Once inside you are not, as you might imagine, presented with choices that might not be out of place in certain coffee shops in that other European city known for its general uptightness, Amsterdam.

You choose your sweets, fill up a dispenser and a childproof seal is then used to give your selection that final look. These really are happy pills you can leave in a cupboard without worrying that your three year old may find them and need their stomach pumped down the local hospital.