CT Spice

I checked and didn't see a thread on this, and I've been wondering about this.

Han Solo smuggled spice for Jabba. Luke was told that his father was a navigator on a spice freighter.
Wookieepedia basically says spice is the GFFA category of mind-altering drugs.

Smuggling spice is presented as an unsavory and underworld thing that Han did for a living, while Luke shrugs it off about his father like "Dad drove a McDonald's truck for a living."

So what is the story on spice?

 

What are you searching for exactly? What is spice? Or what is the story behind the spice in the OT? (Sort of preliminary info in the below, though).

Besides that...Luke could have avoided thinking too much about his father being a 'bad' person/spice smuggler because he didn't know him. He could have wanted to preserve his father's memory.
The other option (which I personally believe) is that it's a freighter versus a smuggling ship. According to Legends, not all spice is bad. Some was allowed by the Republic/Empire, some was used for medicinal purposes.
The Hutts also were big on spice and such. So it's entirely possible that Tatooine residents just don't see it as a big deal if someone does that work, just because of the amount of people involved in the trade.

Just some perspectives I see.

 

In the novel, Luke says

"But my father didn't fight in the Clone Wars. He was no knight - just a navigator on a space freighter."

 

It is "spice" freighter in the movie though, yes? Or have I been hearing it wrong for 37 years? *embarrassed*

I've never really had a feel for what Lucas was trying to get at with connecting "spice" with two different characters (and then the spice mines of Kessel as well), one of whom was the good-guy cover story for Luke's parentage, and one who was a drug smuggler. I was wondering if it was just kind of the way things were on Tatooine -- that being an outlaw on some level was the norm. (Which makes Tatooine what, the opium-poppy growing Afghanistan of the GFFA?)

It just seems like there's a lot of references to spice and it never really adds up to anything other than...a lot of references to spice.

 

It does come up as "spice" when I look up the script.

Threepio mentions that if he and Artoo are caught by the Empire they'll be "sent to the Spice Mines of Kessel or smashed into who knows what"

Suggesting that the Empire actually controls the mines.

 

Maybe someone had been reading Dune and accidentally said 'spice' instead of 'space'.

 

I suppose either

1. "Spice" is a natural thing that is ABLE to be used as a mind-altering drug, but not intended to

2. It's a general term for drugs. Any kind of drugs. Like if I told my friend "Hang on, I need to take my drugs" they'll be all like "Holy **** you're on drugs?!" then I could reply with "I meant headache pills" or something

 

As Jabba would say: "He who controls the glitterstim controls the universe."

 

Hmmm. So they could just be mining Aspirin on Kessel

 

Of course, the funny thing is, Luke's father was a navigator on a spice freighter during the Clone Wars.

 

I thought he was doing the piloting and Artoo the navigating?

 

Spice - Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki

Spice was slang for various mind-altering drugs. Varieties included ryll and the strongest (and most expensive), glitterstim. The planet Kessel was rich with these spices, which were harvested from dangerous mines, at one point in history by slave labor. Sevarcos II, Rori, Ryloth, and Troiken were other sources of spice. The word could also refer to non-narcotic herbs and minerals used to give foods or drinks flavor.

 

You know, it must be impossible for a Tatooine person to say Space and have someone not hear Spice. "I said space, not spice!"

 

I think he was just delivering paprika to the Core...

 

It was also mined on the moons of Naboo so I get the impression there is a legit trade of spice but also an underworld black market.

Besides, even legal product still have people smuggling them. If you don't believe me, just try going to Canada with 250 cartons of cigarettes.

 

Judging by the "R2 Come Home" episode, I wouldn't be surprised if Artoo was also the one really piloting every time we see Anakin "flying" starships. Anakin just likes to take credit for all of Artoo's hard work.

 

That makes sense.

The reason why the spice miners are "disgruntled" could be pay and conditions or that Padmé was backing a movement to shut them down because, although legal, it is dangerous (like cigerettes)

 

One of the first newcanon books: Star Wars Rebels: The Visual Guide, has this to say:

p102-103

The royal family on Kessel allows the harvesting of spice on one hemisphere of their world. They turn a blind eye to the brutal working conditions and the transformation of the medicinal spice mineral into a dangerous drug.

Spice mining is incredibly dangerous, so the Empire uses slave labor. Prisoners are sent to Kessel in order to make them disappear permanently. Many Wookiees have spent their final days digging in the mines.

On Kessel, spice mining is on an industrial scale. Deep pits, mine shafts and refineries cover the surface. Several other systems around the galaxy support spice mining too, including Ryloth and Naboo. The Pyke Syndicate is one of the largest dealers in illegal spice.

 

Basically how you get high in the star wars universe.

 

Emporer hates curry so much that all spice is illegal. There's just no other explaination.

 

Makes sense that Owen would try to villainize Anakin in Luke eyes by telling him a was nothing but a measly spice smuggler.

 

And not even a shipowner at that - just "Navigator on a Spice freighter"

I suppose it could have meant "legal spice transport" rather than "illegal smuggling" since we know that the Republic had lots of spice to hand over to Hondo when he demanded a ransom for Dooku.

 

Wow, glitterstim sounds like something out of Logan's Run. That's great. Thanks for posting. (Not that I want any)

 

Could be analogous to cigarettes, or alcohol, or even drugs with (possible?) medicinal purposes like opium or cannabis. Perfectly legal for certain people to buy and sell them, illegal for others, depending on if you greased the right palms and have the right licences. Luke was under the impression his dad was legit, and basically a courier. Han is a smuggler and knows it.

 

That's the way it's described in Star Wars Rebels: The Visual Guide - as a mineral, with medicinal properties, that can however be converted into a powerful drug.