Spice

Spice was the name for a type of illicit substance or substances in demand throughout the the galaxy. Spice was mined at the Spice Mines of Kessel, where Wookiee slaves were worked to death turning medicinal spice mineral into a dangerous drug. Spice mines could be found in several other planetary systems throughout the galaxy, including those of Ryloth and Naboo.

History
An assassination attempt against Senator Padmé Amidala was initially suspected to be the work of disgruntled spice miners on the moons of Naboo, though it later transpired that the assassin was in fact hired by Count Dooku, the leader of the Separatists.

When the Ohnaka Gang captured Count Dooku, they demanded million credits in spice delivered in an unarmed diplomatic ship in exchange for handing him over to the Jedi. . After Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were captured during a meeting to verify that the Ohnaka Gang did indeed have Dooku, the Gungan Jar Jar Binks and Senator Kharrus were sent with the demanded spice, though it was ultimately moot, as Dooku had escaped by the time they arrived with it.

The Pyke Syndicate used raw spice to create a powerful drug and Supreme Chancellor Valorum sent Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas to investigate.

When Imperial forces boarded the Tantive IV, C-3PO was worried that he and R2-D2 would be sent to the Spice Mines of Kessel.

Behind the scenes
It has been inferred that Frank Herbert's seminal book, Dune (1965), influenced Star Wars heavily. Spice plays a central role in the Dune universe.

Spice was first mentioned at the beginning of the original Star Wars with C-3PO's worry to R2-D2 that "We'll be sent to the Spice Mines of Kessel, smashed into who-knows-what!" Spice was also briefly mentioned in Attack of the Clones of the prequel trilogy and a payment of spice was an important plot element in two installments of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In canon, the details of what, exactly, spice was were kept quite vague until "The Lost One" in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which clearly identified it as being used to make a dangerous drug, corroborated by reference material for Star Wars Rebels clearly establishes it as a dangerous drug. Numerous stories from the Expanded Universe, later re-branded as Star Wars Legends gave details on the spice trade, describing it as consisting a number of different types of mind-altering drugs, such as ryll and glitterstim.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars Rebels
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Heir to the Jedi
 * Star Wars Rebels
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Heir to the Jedi
 * Heir to the Jedi