Spore is an extremely powerful stimulant drug made from the dried and ground caps of a toxic mushroom native to the forests of The New Republic of Bēti. Primarily ingested by snorting or dissolution and injection, it serves little medical purpose and is primarily used recreationally.
Spore takes the form of a coarse white powder and effects begin to kick in within a few seconds. Psychological effects generally include hyperactivity, agitation, loss of contact with reality and an overwhelming feeling of bliss. Physiological effects include enlarged pupils, prominent engorged veins, glowing green eyes and increased body temperature, and also if the taker is a magic user, sparks coming off the skin.
Spore is also known for its catalyst properties for magic users. While it increases the power and effectiveness of spells, this is because it causes the natural mechanisms in the body that allow access to the Weave to malfunction and allow through much more energy than normal. This makes the magical effects more prominent, but also more volatile as the increased energy makes it very likely the magic will go Wild. Many are the addicted spellcasters who have been severely injured or more often killed by the effect this drug has on their spellcasting, often having traumatic or deadly knock-on effects on any hapless soul who is unlucky enough to be nearby.
Spore is extremely addictive, and the effects of long-term exposure are deleterious and eventually fatal. Long-term effects include paranoia, violent mood swings, sensations of itching or imaginary insects crawling on the skin, mild visual and auditory hallucinations and highly increased blood pressure, and eventually leads to chest pains, coughing up blood, dehydration, hypertension, bleeding from the eyes nose and ears, the destruction of body cartilage and the degradation of the immune system. Eventually, this will lead to heart attacks, strokes, or a violent magical reaction within the body, resulting inevitably in death and, in the latter case, also the deaths of those nearby.
Due to the extremely damaging and destructive effects of the drug, Spore is highly illegal throughout many nations. In the Imperial Troll Empire, selling Spore is punishable by hanging, in The New Republic of Bēti beheading, in the Grand Duchy of Tir drawing hanging and quartering, in The Imperial Protectorate of the Kingdom of the Faerie Isle deportation to the Morian mainland for trial regardless of nationality, in the Yeti Republic being shaved, stripped naked and left in the snow in an isolated location to die and in Manzil being strapped to the front of a cannon and being blown apart. The only locations where it is not illegal are The Meritocratic Republic of the United People of the Pools where it is used as a combat drug to boost their army's magic users and The Beastfolk Heartlands due to them not having a unified government, though it is still greatly discouraged socially.