Salvia divinorum
Should this hallucinogenic plant be regulated in West Virginia and Ohio?By ROGER ADKINS
Article Photos
PARKERSBURG - Salvia divinorum, a mostly legal plant with hallucinogenic properties often referred to as the "sage of the seers" or "diviner's sage," is continuing to show up on official radars.
The plant is illegal in Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Delaware, Maine, North Dakota, Illinois, Kansas, Virginia and Florida. California also is looking at legislation to regulate it. There are no laws regarding Salvia in West Virginia or Ohio.
The move to regulate the plant is fueled in part by a recent trend of teenagers and other individuals video taping themselves using the substance. This is causing officials across the country to take notice and contemplate legal sanctions on the plant. It is also being studied by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
According to its classification, the plant is a member of the sage genus and mint family. It has been used by indigenous tribes for medicinal purposes and shamanistic rituals. Other more common members of the Salvia genus are used as house plants and herbs, but do not harbor the same hallucinogenic properties as Salvia divinorum.
Jerry McKown, owner of Smokin' Joe's smoking accessories and tattoo shop, is familiar with Salvia divinorum and says the youths uploading videos to the Internet are inexperienced and immature in most cases. They are creating a stigma around the plant, he said. He said there is no information that ingesting the plant is harmful or habit forming.
Parkersburg police Chief Gerald Board says the plant has significant mind-altering effects and needs to be regulated and possibly labeled as a controlled substance.
The hallucinogenic and other effects of Salvia divinorum can be obtained in a number of ways, including smoking dried leaves, chewing fresh leaves or using a liquid extract, according to www.sagewisdom.com, a site run by Daniel Siebert. According to his site, Siebert is an independent researcher, pharmacognosist, ethnobotanist, educator and author who has been studying Salvia divinorum for more than 20 years.
According to Siebert's research, Salvia divinorum's psychoactive ingredient is salvinorin A. It is unlike other hallucinogenic drugs, such as LSD and "magic mushrooms," in which the psychoactive ingredient is usually an alkaloid.
Board said Salvia divinorum's effects include loss of physical coordination, uncontrollable laughter, visual alterations, visions, the experiencing of multiple realities, a contemplative sense of peace, a sense of profound understanding, a dream-like veneer over the world, a sense of total confusion or madness, seeing or becoming part of a tunnel, a loss of sense of awareness as an individual, visions of non-Euclidean geometry, a sense of flying, floating, twisting or turning, a feeling of being immersed in an energy field or a feeling of being connected to a larger whole.
"This stuff is apparently more powerful than marijuana. I think the effects would be greater. I definitely think it should be regulated and I feel that way about anything that takes away physical control," Board said. "I can tell you straight up that I think anything that affects mobility, thinking or anything else needs to be regulated. That goes for alcohol or anything else."
The effects can last from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on how the plant is used, Board said. There have been no reported deaths caused by the plant and its proponents maintain it is not addictive or harmful, though dsyphoria can sometimes result. Proponents recommend having a "sitter" when using Salvia.
McKown said experiences with the plant often vary. McKown's shop has carried Salvia divinorum for nearly three years. Individuals must be 18 or older to purchase it.
"It takes three to four weeks to go through 20-25 packs," he said.
Each pack contains one gram of dried plant extract.
McKown said he had never heard of Salvia divinorum until a customer asked him about it.
"I went online and did some research. I have friends affiliated with testing facilities. One took some and had it tested to be sure it wasn't dangerous. I also had an officer from the Parkersburg Police Department come in and take a gram for testing," he said.
McKown said he does not believe Salvia is harmful and the individuals who wish to criminalize it do not understand it. This mind-set was behind the criminalization of marijuana and other substances, he said. People fear what they don't understand, he said.
"I think it's people who don't understand it. The people who are trying to ban it are those who don't know anything about it. They've never tried it and never experienced it. There's nothing illegal in it," he said.
Most of the videos seen on the Internet claiming to show people experiencing bad "trips" often involve friends being poor "sitters," McKown said.
"People are feeling the effects and their friends aren't letting them relax. If you watch the videos, you'll see them agitating the person or just laughing at them. Then they call it a bad experience," he said.
McKown said he has tried Salvia.
"It's a legal substance. I saw some hallucinogenic effects. I've had many people describe the effects, everything from an echo effect to voices. It usually lasts five to 10 minutes. Others say they just sit back and relax. It's soothing. It doesn't affect anyone exactly the same. I've never had any two people come in and say they've experienced the same thing," he said. "I don't understand why there aren't more people selling it. It's very accessible and easy to get. You can buy from any distributor."
As for Salvia's future as a legal substance, McKown said he doesn't know what will happen.
"It could go either way. If they (officials) have their way with it, it will be illegal. I really don't see the big deal. I've never had anyone come in and flat-out say they had a bad 'trip' or experience. I never had anyone say they started crying or saw walls melting," he said.
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RickWT
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08-09-08 5:57 PM
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So having more information is a bad thing? Have you folks ever heard the phrase, "don't shoot the messenger"? Also, didn't you notice how much of the information for this report came from the Internet? Chances are your kids knew about this stuff long before the News reported on it. Get real!
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SHELIA
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08-07-08 9:42 PM
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*** was dot com and dot org It shoud be dot org at the end.
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SHELIA
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08-07-08 9:42 PM
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SaraBrum, if it is used as intended, it would most like be used in it's true natural state, unadultered and unprocessed (such as coca leaves are in certain indigenous tribes) and would be used by the people/ tribes common to the area in which it grows naturally. I went to the link (it was incorrect as **** it should have been ****) and the gentleman mentioned sells it online and sells it in herb and as tinctures but that means it was processed in some form. He also has to ship it in from other countries so it isn't naturally occuring in our area and isn't commonly available in our own society. I also would never recommend to be in a "peaceful setting ALONE" when experimenting with a known hallucinogen. That could be life threatening if something went wrong.
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srmn8er
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08-07-08 7:02 PM
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Geeze Louise! How irresponsible! I mean we as parents and citizens need to know about this stuff but to put it out there, right on the front page with a huge, full color photo that shows the price (what a cheap high). Then you give an enticing description about the "affects." And if that isn't enough, you tell your readers where to buy it. Thanks for advertising this junk so effectively. Not only that, you succeeded in making Chief Board look like the prohibition nazi. Irresponsible doesn't even begin to describe. Be sure take your fair share of credit when your next headline on the subject goes something like: SALVIA ABUSE AMONG TEENS CONCERNS LOCAL OFFICIALS
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DCGibson
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08-07-08 6:30 PM
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I never heard of this herb, article was well written but was it something we as a community needed to know about? Did the N&S do the responsible thing in reporting this ? Good grief kids would snort Comet if they thought they would catch a buzz off of it.
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Victor
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08-07-08 11:23 AM
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Well the War on Drugs is a complete failure and has lead to much gang activity and other criminal problems because drugs are a underground market. Here we have a product that is legal, costs a good deal, and we don't have any problems. The minute you say it is illegal is when all the problems will start.
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SaraBrum
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08-07-08 11:15 AM
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This is a wonderful article. As a journalist myself, I think Roger did an excellent job at showing both sides of the dispute and not just making the substance sound terrible. As for Teresa1's comment... aspirin is a drug too... Young kids in bad settings are the reason this drug is getting such a bad rap. It was originally used in sacred ways and should continue to be used as such. I've done considerable research on this herb and most find its effects to be beneficial and spiritual. Please keep an open mind when you hear the word "drug". Not everything should be made illegal when it can save the consciousness of the planet!!! If you're going to try it, be in a peaceful and calm setting alone or with someone you trust completely. Peace!
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SHELIA
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08-07-08 9:07 AM
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At first I thought it said Saliva-- I was like yuck, spit? OMG, what next? And I don't see a lot of kids flocking to Smokin Joes for some "legal weed" at $39.99 or $49.99 a pop. (If you enlarge the photo you can see the price) I bet it ends up being like that "herbal extacy" It's probobly just junk and another waste of cash, might as well just roll up a 50 dollar bill and smoke it, I imagine it will havethe same effect.
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nonews
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08-07-08 8:36 AM
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Looks like I'm buying some salvia today! AHHHH! I might go CRAZY or try to jump off a building or something! What a joke.
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Teresa1
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08-07-08 8:25 AM
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Well..this is a very well written and informative report. I can see all these teens just flocking to their 18 yr and older buddies saying hey...go buy me some of this..its not an illegal drug or nothing..blah blah...Thanks to this article I see a big increase in sales of this substance. If this product causes you to do these things its a drug pure and simple and should be regulated.
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REALLYDISTURBED
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08-07-08 8:13 AM
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Really great description...kinda makes you want to try it
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mythravere
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08-07-08 7:33 AM
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Make it illegal which is gonna make people notice it and people most want forbidden fruits. Whats the point to controlling it the "war" on drugs isnt even effective. making it illegal will drive demand for it, it will become the new cool thing to do. Has making any drug illegal stopped its proliferation? Nope not by a long shot!
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