HIGH LIFE

Head Shop Owner Says He Was Born to Sell Salvia, Marijuana
Paraphernalia and Psychedelic Party Clothing

Name: Andre Levert

Age: 33

Occupation: Proprietor of Psychonaut (154 Prince Arthur E.)

Bio: This jolly Vieux Longueuil family man has been enthralled by the
wonderful world of reefer ever since he was a child growing up in small town
southern Ontario. "I was 13, riding in the car with my dad listening to this
report on Radio-Canada that was really exaggerating the negatives about pot,
when I went, 'Hey, this is something I need to try soon.'" Discovering "the
effects to be quite inter-esting," young Andre started researching the devil's
weed something fierce, delving into "the whole conspiracy behind its
prohibition, its history, its different effects etc" and today credits his
youthful marijuana fixation for keeping him "out of all sorts of trouble. It
brought me to this peaceful culture when I so easily could've been drawn to
darker things." Although he studied to become and eventually did labour for
a brief period as a health care attendant, Andre says his heart and soul
have always belonged to the "marijuana counter-culture," so in 2003, after
managing another area head shop for several years, he decided to go whole
hog and open his own clothing/paraphernalia outlet, the inimitable
Psychonaut at 154 Prince Arthur E. He drives a pragmatic 2006 Toyota
Corolla.

Were his parents proud when he announced he was launching his very own
business, selling items that encourage illegal drug consumption?
"Well, my dad's an ex-monk and my mom an ex-nun who found each other
after leaving the church and eventually had five children together.
Even still, what I was selling didn't bother them nearly as much as
the risks involved in opening my own business. They wanted me to
pursue health care where I'd make more money, but I got into this
because of my interest in the marijuana counter-culture, not to get
rich. Truth is, this is the job I've known I was born to do ever since
I was 17. Owning something like Psychonaut has always been my dream."

The biggest selling items at Psychonaut: "Clothing, surprisingly. Women's
psychedelic party clothing for the local psychedelic rave community."

Have people grown tired of salvia yet or has Miley Cyrus
re-popularized the stuff? "Salvia is basically the kind of thing you
do once or twice and then maybe recommend to a few people. It's not
really a fun buzz. So there's always people who still want it, but its
heyday is long over now."

Given that salvia isn't regulated, can he sell the muck to minors
without fear of legal repercussions? "Yeah, I can but I won't. I don't
want to see it become illegal, you know, if parents start complaining
about it and everything."

How many times a week does he get tourists walking in asking if he can
help get them straight with some weed? "In the summer, I'd say maybe
three times a day. The Americans especially, because they come here
and see people smoking openly on the street, so they're not sure if
it's legal or not. I usually tell them to just walk up the street to
the park or to ask somebody on the street for weed. I mean, it's never
hard finding pot in Montreal."

Last book read: Psychedelic Healing: The Promise of Entheogens for
Psychotherapy and Spiritual Development, by Neal Goldsmith.

Musical preferences: Pink Floyd, Cream, Ben Harper.

Words of wisdom: "Patience is a virtue, but waiting sucks."