Salvia Divinorum Youtube Ban sought on on newly popular and legal hallucinogenic drug

[enquirewithin]

Will a ban on Salvia result in a ban on kratom too?

By Andrew Lightman
The Patriot Ledger
Posted Mar 22, 2008 @ 01:42 PM
http://www.patriotledger.com/news/x2067326135 HANOVER —
In the video, the teenager lights up a bong and inhales the smoke. Seconds later, his eyes glaze over.


His friends laugh and talk to him, but he doesn’t really answer. He sits across from them, but essentially he’s not even there.
Nor is he breaking the law.


Almost everywhere in America, the drug taken by the teen, known as Salvia divinorum, is legal, cheap, even available on eBay.


Salvia divinorum, a green leafy plant native to the mountains of southern Mexico, has hallucinogenic properties that, according to the National Institute of Health, can cause short but intense delusional episodes.
Now, a bill is making its way through the Legislature to make the plant illegal in Massachusetts.


The proposal gained approval from the Legislature’s Committee on Public Health on Tuesday, and it could be put to a vote by lawmakers later this year.


Salvia divinorum is not the salvia that gardeners know, typically seen in garden centers throughout New England.


Teenagers are documenting Salvia highs on video and posting them on YouTube by the thousands. The videos have been watched more than a million times.


With every view, Salvia’s popularity can only rise, said state Rep. Vinny deMacedo, R-Plymouth, who has sponsored the bill to make the sale or possession of Salvia a crime. The bill would also ban Khat and Kratom, two other legal drugs that are readily available online.


From YouTube, deMacedo said an experimenting adolescent is just a click away from ordering the drug on eBay.


“Everyone who has seen the YouTube videos agrees, this is a dangerous substance,” deMacedo said. “To me, leaving it legal, we’re sending a message that it is OK.”


Eight states have banned or restricted the sale of Salvia divinorum, while several more, including Massachusetts, will consider regulations in the coming year.


However, while its long-term health effects have not been studied, its short-term use has raised some concerns.


The drug was listed as one contributing factor in the suicide of a Delaware teen, though according to published reports, the autopsy showed no traces of Salvia in his system.


Locally, hospitals have had no reports of overdose or adverse affects from its use.


South Shore Hospital has not treated any emergency room patients suffering from an adverse use of Salvia, said Dr. John Benanti, chief of the emergency department.


In fact, until this week, Salvia divinorum was unknown to Benanti and his medical staff.


The Massachusetts Department of Public Health also has no record of anyone seeking medical treatment for use of Salvia, said spokeswoman Donna Rheaume.


“Alcohol and marijuana continue to be the drug of choice for adolescents,” she said.


But there is some evidence the drug is finding its way to Massachusetts.
Within the past year, two or three patients have reported using Salvia in combination with other drugs, said Dr. John Knight, the director of the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research at Children’s Hospital in Boston.


A year ago, Knight said none of his patients reported using it.
Salvia is appealing to some, he said, because doctors cannot detect it with current drug tests.


“It’s new, which I think is part of the appeal,” Knight said. “People don’t know what it is, so there is a feeling that they won’t get caught.”
It is also easy to buy.


On March 11, Plymouth County Sheriff Joe McDonald ordered Purple Sticky Brand Salvia and a half-ounce of Kratom on eBay.
They arrived at the Hanover Police Department a week later. The $6 of Kratom was packaged in a plastic sandwich bag and mailed from Springfield, Idaho.


Another 433 Salvia items were up for sale on eBay on Friday, with an ounce of dry leaf listed at $19.99 plus shipping.


If police officers can buy it, Hayes said teenagers on the South Shore certainly have as well.


“In our area, just by the fact that you can get it through eBay and have it sent to your house, we know people are using it,” Hayes said. “If it’s not illegal, it makes it seem more palatable.”

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Picture:


Teenagers are going online to buy drugs. These substances are not illegal, but police warn they are still unsafe. They can be purchased on eBay and other sites. The most common one is Salvia, and hundreds of teenagers have put videos of themselves smoking it up on the internet. The Hanover Police department has some of it, ordered online by the plymouth county sheriff's office.

[Matches]

Ugh, swim stock up or something?

[kaczynski]

whatever, salvia won't be worth the trouble once it's illegal, might as well just get a more powerful psychedelic if it takes the same amount of effort..they were bound to come after it, it's amazing they waited this long. but then again it did take them forever to realize that a large number of kids abuse cough medicine..

[TMM]

Originally Posted by kaczynski

whatever, salvia won't be worth the trouble once it's illegal, might as well just get a more powerful psychedelic if it takes the same amount of effort..they were bound to come after it, it's amazing they waited this long. but then again it did take them forever to realize that a large number of kids abuse cough medicine..

They've been after it for a while, but it's no closer to being widely banned, really. And when you say more powerful psychedelic, what exactly do you have in mind? The only thing I can think of that's more powerful than Salvia is DMT, which is a bitch to get as it is.

[cra$h]

but cough medicine isn't packaged to get you high, and that's not its intentions.
as for that delaware teen that killed himself, swim has found that salvia can help make things seem perfectly connected, and would use the regular plant over a period of time for depression (wasn't officially diagnosed, but it had to be depression) and was ok. this kid probably did the same thing, then couldn't get salvia, and got depressed not from the lack of salvia, and kiled himself

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Sorry but swim doesn't think salvia will be worth the trouble when it is illegal,swim doesn't think it is worth the trouble now.Thats why swim can't understand it being illegal,something that gives you a two minute experience?

[enquirewithin]

Originally Posted by Orchid_Suspiria

Sorry but swim doesn't think salvia will be worth the trouble when it is illegal,swim doesn't think it is worth the trouble now.Thats why swim can't understand it being illegal,something that gives you a two minute experience?

It's a shame when any drug gets banned, but SWIM agrees with SWIO-- he's never actually got anything of great value from salvia- yet.

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Swim doesn't want to turn this into a debate about salvia,but swim thinks the fact that many people don't get anything from it might be in its favor.Whats really the point in banning something that is not only non addictive but has effects that are so short lived for most?Swim sort of felt ripped off by salvia to be honest.

[enquirewithin]

Originally Posted by Orchid_Suspiria

Swim doesn't want to turn this into a debate about salvia,but swim thinks the fact that many people don't get anything from it might be in its favor.Whats really the point in banning something that is not only non addictive but has effects that are so short lived for most?Swim sort of felt ripped off by salvia to be honest.

The authorities and conservative people are scared of anything that alters our perception of reality, unless it's alcohol.

[Bajeda]

“Everyone who has seen the YouTube videos agrees, this is a dangerous substance,” deMacedo said. “To me, leaving it legal, we’re sending a message that it is OK.”

The triumph of ideology over logic and reason...

“If it’s not illegal, it makes it seem more palatable.”

It often seems like the inverse is true. In any case, if Salvia is going to be banned on a federal level you'll probably see people rushing to try it before its too late (plus some stockpiling for some people).

[chinpokomaster]

I'd be amazed if they made it illegal, because it sucks. They'll want kids to try it and then think "wow, don't think much of these drugs things".

[cra$h]

once there is a ban on salvia, and everyone gets their last horah out of it, that's when we'll see idiots doing something stupid, and then big brother can say see, i told you it was dangerous

[Ben918]

My local news station did a story about salvia and how its dangerous and easily available online. They claimed that "while being legal to buy in the U.S., it is just as potent as LSD". That kind of ignorance makes me sick. They advertised the story all day as "see what your kids can buy online and is just as intense as LSD." They act like its an epidemic then played it over and over for hours and dont tell you about it until the evening.