Pharium

Pharium (Pharium solitas var.) is both a ground-hugging plant and the drug derived from it.

The plant

The pharium plant is a low, ground-hugging growth with numerous small round leaves and simple, wind-pollinated flowers. Although details are unclear, the oldest pharium vaeieties are thought to be native to Prime Meridian and only growing well in dry conditions; natives introduced it across the Pacifica Archipelago during the Abandonment, selecting for greater moisture tolerance.

Both the leaves and seeds of native pharium plants are psychoactive; leaves are usually chewed or smoked, while seeds must be ground and smoked. While some cases of psychological addiction are known, limited pharium usage is a common and accepted part of native culture and spirituality.

The drug

Recontact introduced pharium to the newcomer market and, with them, organized crime. The result was strain-derived pharium, commonly called derivative or D, grown from high-strength cultivars or (increasingly) from genetically redesigned strains with ever-looser relations to the original plant.

Strain-derived pharium has effects similar to native pharium, but far stronger than was ever achieved naturally; derivative highs are usually debilitating and last for hours, leaving stoned users suffering from nausea, headaches, and nerve dysfunction. (Most addicts frequent so-called "pharium dens" where they can get high and recover in relative safety.) Newer and still more powerful strains are believed to cause delusions, paranoia, and violent behavior, prompting the Justice Commission to crack down on pharium usage wherever it has the jurisdiction to do so.