TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - 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."
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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.
SALVIA?
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Re: SALVIA?
yeah right.Sines wrote:the inexpensive and easy-to-obtain plant could become the next marijuana.
being stoned is fun, being on salvia is not fun.
how did they work this out?
unless the shit i smoked wasn't salvia, my experience of it is that it will completely twist your head and make everything look two dimensional or four dimensional in a way that cannot be explained.
this shit is serious! i understand why they want to make it illegal, but if i was in power i'd keep it legal to scare people away from the more dangerous, illegal drugs.
definately worth a try if you haven't done it yet. its NOT fun, but it is an experience worth having!
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sounds like my last mushroom trip, minus the hundreds of non-existent people running around my bedroom opening non-existent doors and windows.frebentos wrote:Dont know about that, but intense paranoia and wanting to kick the fuck out of 4 friends who, imo, were all laughing heartliy AT me was not a good experience...unklefesta wrote: you dont like talking to elves and hearing thunderous lightning strikes while being transported atop mount Xanadu??
its weed only for me for another few months
Re: SALVIA?
true...£10 Bag wrote:
definately worth a try if you haven't done it yet. its NOT fun, but it is an experience worth having!
Last time I had it I drank some coke, felt the taste of it in my leg (but in the past) and watched in horror as reality folded over itself repeatedly. Definately an experience, but for me personally its a very uncomfortable drug and unlike other hallucinogens I cant find a way of making it more comfortable with music, setting or anything else.
not something i'd be doing regularly, that's for sure. can't see how it would become a problem like they seem to think it isTomity wrote:Definately an experience, but for me personally its a very uncomfortable drug and unlike other hallucinogens I cant find a way of making it more comfortable with music, setting or anything else.
Thats the stupidity of it. It will become a problem if its made illegal...badger wrote:not something i'd be doing regularly, that's for sure. can't see how it would become a problem like they seem to think it isTomity wrote:Definately an experience, but for me personally its a very uncomfortable drug and unlike other hallucinogens I cant find a way of making it more comfortable with music, setting or anything else.
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