Are Ghost Chilies Illegal in the US?

Hell no!  Bhut Jolokias, popularly known as Ghost Chilies, are not illegal. However, they are not easy to find. Store owners in the U.S. are maybe thinking that this chili endowed with over a million Scoville units won’t simply catch on among consumers in the mainstream market. And so, some people, given the proper gardening tools and space, grow their own. But if you don’t wish to go through all the hassles of doing that, you can simply order fresh pods of ghost chilies from specialty chili stores on the net. These stores usually have the ground or dried form, and some even have home-made Jolokia hot sauce bottles. You can also scout on eBay or Craiglist where some ghost pepper growers post their excess harvests up for bids or for sale. Lastly, try visiting Indian markets. They sell different types of ghost peppers that have been watered down to lessen the heat.

Hunting for ghost peppers is like searching for a treasure - arduous yet worthwhile. The painstaking search you go through just to get your hands on these ghost chilies can easily be washed off by that endorphin rush you are sure to experience when you eat them.