We used to bemoan the way the Houston 420 franchises were taking over the city. We felt like the Starbuckization of head shops was, like, totally uncool, man. But then we realized that all head shops are already pretty much the same anyway: bongs, hookahs, metal and glass pipes, Bob Marley T-shirts, sex toys, wacky bumper stickers...We were going to say the list goes on and on, but actually that's about it. The real difference comes when you're dealing with the salespeople, and that's where the Heights' Houston 420 smokes the competition. Got a question about how a bubbler or a double-chamber bong works? They'll let you know without going all more-stonier-than-thou on your ass. The sheer helpfulness of the staff is enough to drive a narc insane.