One of the most fascinating aspects of the Star Wars franchise is its vibrant underbelly. Viewers have seen the heights of financial excess and political power in the galaxy and its criminal element. One of the most lovable heroes in the franchise made his living smuggling hard drugs for dangerous mobsters. The concept of narcotics is only mentioned a few times, including one bad sales pitch by a death stick dealer.
The extended universe material of the Star Wars universe is more willing to deal with criminals. The films are focused on larger-scale issues, rarely depicting simple thieves as any significant threat. Despite many similarities, Jedi aren't exactly cops. They can't be bothered to bust every enterprising young drug dealer. Some of them even use.
What are Death Sticks?
Death sticks are one of many illicit narcotics in the Star Wars universe. They resemble glowsticks. They seem to come in multiple colors, contained in small plastic tubes. Death sticks are extremely addictive. Most users never kick the habit, but rehab facilities specially tooled to deal with death sticks exist. Death sticks are manufactured from a distilled and refined substance called ixetal cilona. Very little is known about the material. It's derived from balo mushrooms. These mushrooms are only native to the planet Balosar. Companies like Biotech Industries and Fergriss Pharmaceuticals handled the distillation process. Those companies owned most of Balosar, making ixetal cilona and death sticks the world's primary export.
The cultural attitude toward death sticks seems to vary wildly. Most characters who mention death sticks address their potential lethality. With a name like death sticks, it's fair to assume that most addicts eventually die from its effects. Successive uses are said to literally shorten an addict's lifespan, but it's unknown how much of that claim is an exaggeration. Uniquely, death sticks are also said to weaken a user's connection to the Force. They don't just harm the body. They rot the spirit. Stormtroopers, Jango Fett, and numerous other Star Wars characters have voiced concern for death stick users. The distributors of death sticks are called slythmongers. The most famous slythmonger among the fanbase is Elan Sel'Sabagno, better known as Elan Sleazebaggano. Sel'Sabagno approached Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi with a casual offer, only to be mind-tricked out of the slythmongering game. He was seen years later, casually strolling through Coruscant with a child in tow.
How were Death Sticks Used?
There are multiple ways to consume death sticks. The easiest method seems to be cracking open the tube and dumping it into a pleasing beverage. Some users injected the fluid intravenously. A solid form of the death stick substance could be created. Some addicts cut up and snorted this powder. Most users smoked death sticks. Most examples of characters using death sticks in Star Wars are referred to with the language people use for cigarettes rather than hard drugs. Stormtroopers are sometimes depicted jonesing for a death stick, though Imperial soldiers aren't allowed to smoke on the job. Rael Averross, the first Padawan of Count Dooku, is the only Jedi known to smoke death sticks. Averross is well-known as an unusually free-spirited Jedi Knight.
Though the canon stories don't focus much on Balosar, the old Legends continuity told a frightening tale. The people of Balosar were heavily addicted to death sticks. Pollution from biotech companies ruined the planet's atmosphere, granting most of the populace a resistance to toxins. Death sticks ravaged the population of Balosar, gradually eliminating large chunks of the species. Chemically altered death sticks were used as mind-altering substances by a Dark Side cult called Bando Gora. With the help of their homemade neurotoxins, they used tainted death sticks to brainwash victims into serving as assassins and soldiers.
Are There Other Narcotics in Star Wars?
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
The biggest competitor for addicts in the galaxy is spice. Fans may recall Han Solo earning the ire of mob boss Jabba the Hut. He left Jabba's good graces by ditching a massive pile of spice to avoid being captured, costing Jabba a lot of money. Star Wars likely borrowed spice from Frank Herbert's Dune, though the effects aren't as wonderful. Other Star Wars drugs include the violent hallucinogen Anxynth, the medicinal spray Narco Mist, and the Gimer bush that makes up Yoda's cane. As on Earth, there's a drug for every purpose in the Star Wars universe.
Death sticks are either a mild indulgence used by soldiers to take the edge off a hard day or a crippling addiction that rapidly kills all who use them. Their presence in Star Wars stories tends to vary based on the user. Their largest role will likely be in a single throwaway joke in Attack of the Clones that happens to be the funniest joke in the prequel trilogy. Maybe every death stick dealer should go home and rethink their life.