If you’ve ever been inside a gas station, chances are you may have seen a pill or two wrapped in sketchy packaging that promises astoundingly helpful effects. If you’re like most people, you probably take a single look at those pills, chuckle at how obvious of a scam they are and wonder who’d ever consider buying them.
Well, Grant Harting is that “who.”
No, he’s not gullible—in fact, Harting knows better than most what’s going on inside these drugs. He’s a licensed pharmacist in four states, and on his eponymous YouTube channel, he likes to analyze these sketchy pills—reading and explaining their chemical makeups to determine what (if anything) they actually do. (And, in pursuit of the scientific method, he’ll even swallow them to truly experience the effect.)
OK, to be clear, Harting’s not just a sketchy-gas-station-drug sommelier. He also offers plenty of advice and education on common medicines, too, such as what pharmaceuticals are best at fighting specific symptoms of the cold or flu. He does his best to help viewers find the cheapest (but still effective) options out there. And he educates on specific (legal) drugs to teach his audience more about them.
Note: Grant Harting was requested by a reader of Plugged In. Do you have a YouTube channel you’d like us to review? Submit your request by sending it to letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram so we can check it out!
Ultimately, Harting hopes to inform viewers so that they’ll be able to make smarter medication choices (preferably at a better cost, too). As he reads through the ingredient labels on the products he reviews, he often explains the chemical makeup of the drug and its intended effect. Harting also has a few videos giving an overview of certain drugs, such as kratom or methadone. To that end, Harting’s channel is educational in nature.
In some videos, Harting gives his professional opinion on the best products to overcome illness—including which brand names probably aren’t worth the money since a cheaper generic product could do the same or better. He includes guides for things like sleep medication or flu and cold medicine, explaining what viewers should look for in their purchases.
Harting started a company, Crush Cost, which offers services for those who don’t have insurance to help them save money on prescription medications.
Occasionally, Harting references his Christian faith in his videos. And as an added benefit, Harting throws in the occasional joke, too.
Obviously, Harting talks a lot about drugs, and he ingests some sketchy-looking pills that he explicitly tells his viewers to avoid. (He only takes them himself because he has enough knowledge of what’s in the pill to know it likely won’t harm a healthy man like him.) It should be noted as well that some of these sketchy drugs are intended to increase arousal or libido, and Harting describes (in a professional, non-explicit way) whether they work. Otherwise, a viewer can read some of the intended sexual effects on the packaging.
We didn’t hear any harsh crudities from Harting in the videos we watched: The worst we heard was “heck” or “gosh.”
When we say YouTube offers a channel for everything, we mean it. And that certainly includes Grant Harting, where you can watch a licensed pharmacist ingest sketchy gas station drugs in the name of science and education.
Of course, Harting’ll tell you not to do the same; his whole point is that seeing the effects (or lack thereof) played out will discourage viewers from trying them. Still, while we understand why parents wouldn’t want their children watching such risky behaviors on a channel (especially since some of these drugs are sexual enhancers), older viewers may appreciate the scientific and educational bent Harting offers—or at least the cheaper medication alternatives he suggests.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
