Drugs in Endrica

Khoresai: The orcs ritualistically use a drug called Khoresai in the creatively named Khoresai Ritual. Khoresai is cultivated as a small succulent plant which one chews before spitting out. Chewing it causes intense hallucinations often of a spiritual nature, most who choose to talk of their experiences say they came face to face with their gods, their parents or other authority figures and were essentially forced to face their mental and spiritual problems head on. Not usually for sale, but a clever person might be able to manage to get some for as little as $50/dose, although it's likely that it will be much more expensive.
It can also be found as an illegal powder called "dreamdust", which is inhaled like snuff (or cocaine). It's more concentrated than the "natural" Khoresai, and tends to have more intense and abstracted hallucinations. It's most often cut with a bit of opiate, which adds a bit of a high to the hallucinatory experience. Prices for dreamdust range from $30 to $60 a dose.
Being caught with Khoresai is not normally a crime, especially in areas with a high Orc population.
Lamb’s Root is a euphoric, much like heroin. It’s expensive, highly addictive, and illegal. Penalties for having it range from fines to incarceration for weeks or months. Selling it, trading in it, or smuggling it can result in heavy fines and incarceration, and for repeat offenders, possibly execution. On the plus side (for users, anyway) the City Guard can often look the other way, depending upon the bribe and/or how busy the City Guard is at the time, and how sympathetic the guard officer is at the time. It goes for $20-200 per dose on the street, depending upon quality. The low end stuff has a higher chance of messing you up (bad trip, often with physical damage/side effects, on a 14+; 17-18 for the high end stuff).
Pipeweed is basically tobacco. It is legal in the Empire. It is very popular among Hobbits, who almost ritualize its use. $10 for a pouch that will last the usual user a week. More for really fine pipeweed.There are different names for different blends: "High Town", "Keral's Choice", "Garden Blend", and "Sweetleaf" are some examples.
Clusterseeds is cannabis indica. Also just called “Cluster”. It is a side product of hemp production. It is legal in the Empire. $5/dose usually; up to $30/dose for the exceptional stuff. "Mind Cluster" is cannibis sativa, and runs $7-50/dose. It's a bit more rare than regular cluster, but still fairly easy to get.
Caffeine is a stimulant that is natually occurring in both tea leaves and coffee beans. It is legal; both coffee and tea are quite popular in the Empire. Note that coffee and tea are not considered "drugs" by the people in the Empire; the word "caffeine" isn't really a thing in any of the languages, as no one has the scientific knowledge to extract it out of the plants it's contained in. People simply like their coffee and tea. I've included it in this list for completeness' sake.
Alcohol is common, both fermented and distilled beverages exist. Beer, cider, wine; brandies, whiskey, and other spirits (vodka, rum, various fruit-based liqueurs, but not gin or tequila, as there is no juniper or agave in the Empire). Here for completeness. There are taxes on alcohol sales, so there is a bit of bootlegging for the more expensive types (it's not really worth it for the more common, cheaper kinds).
Paradise is distilled from the nectar of the Paradise Plant. It’s a hallucinogen the affects most (if not all) vertebrates, so it’s possible to see animals chewing on the flowers in order to get high. It’s similar in effect to LSD. Cost: $30-60/dose, depending upon dealer. Illegal. The effect is mild if chewing on the blossoms; the full effect comes from the distillation process. Also called "Blossom" and "Headrush" (so-called because of the feeling when it kicks in, as if you are suddenly rushing forward).
Outlawed for "The public good". Punishment for having/using the drug is usually fines, with jail time until the effects wear off (occasionally longer if the Guard is in a bad mood or there is a spate of incidents of drug use. Fines can be in the hundreds of crowns.
Poppy tears is the sap of the opium poppy. It's also called opium or cake (so named because of it's traded form). Used in both medicine (morphine) and the drug trade. In its street form, its effects are similar to Lamb's Root (it's heroine, after all). Street price varies from $20-40 per dose.
It's controlled, but not technically illegal. Although non-medical personnel who are found with large amounts of it will at least be questioned, with the chance that the drug will be confiscated (and some of the excess given to hospitals and such). Repeat offenders can end up with large fines and/or jail time (mostly because it's a useful medicine that shouldn't be hoarded).
Suri nuts are small green nuts similar in size and shape to pistachios in a tough shell. Eaten raw they cause mild hallucinations (auditory, visual, and olfactory), but the Tribal Shamans and Sages would wrap the Suri nuts in Maju (an herb similar to a cross between basil and sage) leaves and roast them in a fire. Once roasted the nuts can then be eaten to induce a trance like state were it is said that the Ancestors can speak through a willing individual. When roasted with the maju leaves the nuts' effects are amplified 10 times or more to bring the user to a state of delerium where reality itself seems to fall away and the veil between Life and Death seems just a wee bit thinner.
Suri nuts are also being crushed and processed into a powder that can be mixed with a variety of dishes; this adds an olfactory hallucination that can make food dishes…different. “This porridge tastes like blueberries and fish!” The powder isn't illegal, and usually Suri nuts aren't illegal either. But if there is a problem with them being used too much (such that it interferes with the local going's on) then the City Watch might crack down on it.
Wile and Kox are depressants. They can relax people pretty well, like Xanax or Valium. Overdosing on either can result in a pretty similar reaction to meth and heroin. Cost: $20/dose. In most places, they are legal. Effects last for about 6-12 hours. Often used for treating stress, PTSD, anxiety, and insomnia. Just don’t be caught with both without a license; see Wissox, below. Regulated by healers, but not technically illegal. Being caught with large amounts (much like opiates) can result in some legal problems.
Wissox is what is formed when you combine Wile and Kox, and this one is the polar opposite of the two times five. Wissox is a temporary super soldier maker serum. The user becomes extremely insane and enraged; it acts as an über steroid. Adrenal glands become extremely active, testosterone levels increase to 5000 ml, which is almost 3 to 4 times the usual levels a male has at max. Continued usage leads to liver scarring, adrenal glands swelling, and frontal lobe decay (part of the brain responsible for higher brain function), permanent -1 IQ for each 6 months of use. ST +2, DX +1, IQ-2, High Pain Threshold, Bad Temper, Bloodlust, OPH: Tendency to yell/scream. The effects last from 15min to 30min. Withdrawal symptoms include muscular dystrophy, heart palpitations, the scarring of the adrenal glands, and seizures.
Illegal, unless you are the government. There are rumors of elite groups of soldiers who are using this stuff. But, like any black project, it's rumor only. Being caught with it means imprisonment, interrogation (why do you have it, where did you get it, how have you used it, etc), and confiscation of any property the authorities can get their hands on. It's a significant enough force-multiplier to really get their attention....
Teldranin is a drug also known as “Manic” that acts like caffeine for magic users, and operates in much the same way, but only to a person's magic abilities. It was originally created by Elves, means “Last River of Noise”, and acts like a minor stimulant that seems to increase a person's casting ability, and the efficiency in which they form their spells. Taking it gives +1 to spell casting (as if Magery was one level higher), but gives Tinnitus for the duration of the effects, which can last from one hour to four hours. The issue that eventually came up much later was that it became more addictive over time, but at a majorly slow rate. The withdrawal period also lasts very long and is potentially deadly if severe enough: when in withdrawal, Magery is one level lower than normal and lasts for a month per dose taken since the last withdrawal period. A person's magical talent can also permanently suffer: if three dozen or so doses have been taken, not taking the drug will cause a permanent loss of a level of Magery (although it won’t go below Level 0).
The drug appeared harmless enough and due to providing a modest level of improvements, became highly accepted by the broad magical community as being safe and useful. By the time the drawbacks first started showing up, it was already a worldwide distribution product and a part of everyday life. Most Elven alchemists have stopped making it, but others have taken over production, leading it to becoming a very prominent blackmarket drug. Cost: $100/dose. It is not illegal, although most Elves say it should be, given how dangerous it is.