Star Wars: 10 Secrets Of Mos Eisley Cantina You Need To Know
9. It Once Served As An Illegal Spice Den
In between the Clone Wars and the end of the Galactic Republic, the Cantina was owned and operated by the Vriichon Brothers, once again thanks to the fantastic tie-in, canon reference book, Star Wars: Complete Locations.
These Ranat siblings were illegal Spice runners who turned the bar into an illegal spice den. This was similar to an opium den of Earth's history. The Spice of the Star Wars universe was said to have been heavily influenced by the spice Melange, from Frank Herbert's Dune.
Spice was mostly mined in the slave mines on Kessel, where Wookie slaves were worked to death. It could also be found in other worlds in the galaxy, including Naboo. In fact, the assassination attempt against Senator Amidala's life was initially credited to disgruntled Spice Miners, before it was revealed to have been ordered by the Separatists.
Spice, particularly Sansanna Spice, was so addictive that those who were hooked would allegedly sell their own mothers just to get another hit. As is the case with any drug, too much could kill the user. Perhaps this is the reason that after they sold the bar, the Vriichon Brothers vanished, lest they be held responsible for the slew of bodies that were buried in the basement of the bar.