hi brown cow i am new here too  over my way (in uk and france) in the supermarkets as an alternative to brillo  you can get these shiny stainless steel type scrubbing pads (no impregnated detergents) in the washing dishes section , buy them cut a bit off and nuke it on your gas cooker till it glows then it can be scrunched and used , have had friends who used this for other substances that needed vapourising, the only time i did the spice was many years ago and i chased it (for the same reasons that you did:wink: ) i got a very noticeable effect but had the feeling at the time that there were better ways of smoking , when i have experimented further (not long now) i shall post my lazy cheapskate git methods:grin: .