A radio head shop is a store that sells music merchandise related to the band Radiohead. It may also be a place where fans of the band can meet and socialize, or share their love of the band and its music.
In the past, many of the products found in head shops were illegal. This is because the owners were often selling drugs that are not legal in certain states, or at least weren’t regulated under the Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act of 1968. This Act allows law enforcement to seize drugs that are chemically similar to those that are already regulated, such as cannabis or heroin.
This act has led to many raids of head shops, even though most of the owners do not deal in actual drugs, and most of them explicitly state that they are not dealing in any sort of illicit substance. The raids and the slander of these legitimate businesses have caused them to lose customers, even those who still wish to buy their merchandise.
Today, a head shop radiohead.store is more like a specialty retail store, or a stand-alone Spencer’s Gifts. They will still sell smoking accessories and t-shirts, but also likely have a lot more products related to counter-culture or hippie lifestyles, such as black light home decor and psychedelic art.
As more of the world legalizes marijuana, the term head shop is likely to see a resurgence. The word was probably first used in 1966 by a New York city store owner named Jeff Glick, who wanted to market his shop to potheads, acidheads and other drug culture fans. Etymonline notes that he coined the phrase by taking its meaning from sense 22 of the dictionary—to “see” or “understand”.