Posted on 03/11/2008 9:39:31 AM PDT by bahblahbah
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — On Web sites touting the mind-blowing powers of salvia divinorum, come-ons to buy the hallucinogenic herb are accompanied by warnings: "Time is running out! ... stock up while you still can."
That's because salvia is being targeted by lawmakers concerned that the inexpensive and easy-to-obtain plant could become the next marijuana. Eight states have already placed restrictions on salvia, and 16 others, including Florida, are considering a ban or have previously.
"As soon as we make one drug illegal, kids start looking around for other drugs they can buy legally. This is just the next one," said Florida state Rep. Mary Brandenburg, who has introduced a bill to make possession of salvia a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Some say legislators are overreacting to a minor problem, but no one disputes that the plant impairs judgment and the ability to drive.
Native to Mexico and still grown there, salvia divinorum is generally smoked but can also be chewed or made into a tea and drunk.
Called nicknames like Sally-D, Magic Mint and Diviner's Sage, salvia is a hallucinogen that gives users an out-of-body sense of traveling through time and space or merging with inanimate objects. Unlike hallucinogens like LSD or PCP, however, salvia's effects last for a shorter time, generally up to an hour.
No known deaths have been attributed to salvia's use, but it was listed as a factor in one Delaware teen's suicide two years ago.
"Parents, I would say, are pretty clueless," said Jonathan Appel, an assistant professor of psychology and criminal justice at Tiffin University in Ohio who has studied the emergence of the substance. "It's much more powerful than marijuana."
Salvia's short-lasting effects and fact that it is currently legal may make it seem more appealing to teens, lawmakers say. In the Delaware suicide, the boy's mother told reporters that salvia made his mood darker but he justified its use by citing its legality. According to reports, the autopsy found no traces of the drug in his system, but the medical examiner listed it as a contributing cause.
Mike Strain, Louisiana's Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner and former legislator, helped his state in 2005 become the first to make salvia illegal, along with a number of other plants. He said the response has been largely positive.
"I got some hostile e-mails from people who sold these products," Strain said. "You don't make everybody happy when you outlaw drugs. You save one child and it's worth it."
An ounce of salvia leaves sells for around $30 on the Internet. A liquid extract from the plant, salvinorin A, is also sold in various strengths labeled "5x" through "60x." A gram of the 5x strength, about the weight of a plastic pen cap, is about $12 while 60x strength is around $65. And in some cases the extract comes in flavors including apple, strawberry and spearmint.
Web sites such as Salviadragon.com tout the product with images like a waterfall and rainbow and include testimonials like "It might sound far fetched, but I experience immortality."
Among those who believe the commotion over the drug is overblown is Rick Doblin of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a nonprofit group that does research on psychedelic drugs and whose goal is to develop psychedelics and marijuana into prescription medication.
"I think the move to criminalize is a misguided response to a very minimal problem," Doblin said.
Doblin said salvia isn't "a party drug," "tastes terrible" and is "not going to be extremely popular." He disputes the fact teens are its main users and says older users are more likely.
"It's a minor drug in the world of psychedelics," he said.
Moreover, it's hard to say how widespread the use of salvia is. National and state surveys on drug use don't include salvia, and because it is legal in most states, law enforcement officials don't compile statistics, either.
San Diego State University last year surveyed more than 1,500 students and found that 4 percent of participants reported using salvia in the past year.
Brandenburg's bill would make salvia and its extract controlled substances in the same class as marijuana and LSD.
Florida state Sen. Evelyn Lynn, whose committee plans to study the salvia bill Tuesday, said the drug should be criminalized.
"I'd rather be at the front edge of preventing the dangers of the drug than waiting until we are the 40th or more," she said.
Technically someone on a salvia trip would make a bad driver, but that's assuming they could get into a car and start it in the first place.
From my observation, that's pretty much never going to happen unless one is actually smoking the stuff while driving, which seems very unlikely. The more likely scenario is that the user is too busy swimming in a river of Lego blocks or collapsing like a black hole to even remember that they HAVE a car, let alone getting in the thing and trying to drive somewhere.
read #31, if you went thru a trip like that alone, who knows a day later you might still be on the edge, so to speak. Especially if you were close to the edge to begin with.
Shitheads.
(Hey, someone had to say it...)
Sometimes I grow weary for lack of hope for the future.
What a pathetic, revolting commentary this practice is...
Warning: I don't know if this is urban legend -- I don't know if it's some wise-ass's way to trick people into ingesting something like ricin. All I know is that when I read your post, I recalled having read about this business.
trust me-—several years ago I tried this stuff, and it was far more powerful than marijuana, even the highest grade marijuana around. Frankly, it was so powerful and disorienting that it is really scary. The high only lasts a few minutes, but during that time you are virtually unable to function-—and you have no comprehension of what is going on around you.
I read a story in GQ by a reporter who investigated Salvia. he went to Mexico where it originates. Down there it was considered part of a spiritual sacrament, and he actually had some trouble finding someone willing to administer it to him. Oddly, the same region produces “magic mushrooms” and the locals had been shocked when those first gained attention because they considered the mushrooms far inferior to Salvia.
The writer continued to use it when he returned to the US, but began to have some terrifying experiences that convinced him the drug was not something to be used casually.
When I had first read the online articles about the drug it seemed fairly harmless. But after reading that article I became convinced that it is a very dangerous drug and that the way it is promoted makes it even more dangerous.
And I am far from a fan of the War on Drugs.
Jimsonweed is much more hallucinogenic then Silvia and lasts for hours.
Back in the 60s they gave it to 100 serious heads as a test. None of them would ever do it again.
Both are non-issues. Recreational drugs need to be at least somewhat fun before anybody wants anything to do with them. Tweak and coke are still a mysteries to me. If I want to be irritated and on edge I just watch the TV news without smoking pot first.
No. I just looked it up and this salvia has whitish/purple blossoms and while pretty, not as spectacular as the common red salvia (annual) you can find at most garden centers or even the purple perennial salvia I have growing in my front yard. I hope no one tries to yank it up and smoke it. I’ll be kinda mad.
thanks, bfl
Heard of this one a few weeks ago, very scary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8Z6lpZD3MA
LOL!
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