One of the newest forces to be reckoned with in Asterland is the appearance of "spice." Spice is the street name for any of a number of drugs that in larger cities have been made illegal to posess or sell. In Alexander, the penalty is up to life in prison for dealing in the substances. The most tame of the varieties is "hush," which is smoked. The plant grows wild in many parts of Kirschwald Forest. The locals use it to make very durable fabrics for use in gunny sacks and such. Its fiber is woven into mats which last well and as poor quality rope.

The next grade of spice is actually in the form of mushrooms that one eats to induce a high. The dots on the mushrooms are scraped off and either dried and inhaled, or smoked. This is known simply as "spore" by the punkers, who are the main users of such. In many of the smaller towns, spore is grown and used without reprecussion from the law, many of which are unaware of its true effects. Besides the Kirschwald, spore is grown in Pip, a peaceful town of hobbits, some of which cultivate spore-bearing mushrooms in hillside caves.

The newest type of spice available is "burn," a narcotic produced from refining a mineral ore found mostly in the lands of chaos. The danger involved in travelling to those lands and the relative scarcity of the ore make the stuff hard to get ahold of as well as expensive to aquire. The drug enhances creativity and is an effective pick-me-up, which is probably why it has grown popular with the upper class merchants of Grunburg especially. It allows them to get more done and do so with a mind open to new ideas, something that has grown rare amongst the upper class of that city. Spice is not as commonly ued among the wealthy of Alexander, most of whom have their roots in farming and other industry involving hard work. These people have more traditional values and tend to shy away from things like spice, which the state church has openly come out against.

The most intense spice to date is rush. This drug is used by the members of the Clan of the Rose, which are the only source of the hallucinogen in JERA. It comes from offworld, is as yet quite rare, and is extremely expensive. Only the very rich can afford even a dose or two of the stuff. Usually the first usage of rush will addict the victim for life. Its very existence is unknown to law agencies of Asterland, much less its source.

Most of the punkers both use and sell spice. They are the main source of both hush and spore. They are fairly open about their use of it. Many law enforcers dare not confront the more powerful spice dealers for fear of being discovered quite dead with no explaination. This fear has its roots in the disappearance of several of the first town council members in Grunburg to speak out against the use and sale of spice which led to the laws banning it. Usually one can find spice only where there are punkers or in towns where their growers live. A player would be well-advised to steer clear of these places and keep their noses to themselves as far as punks are concerned.