National/World
Cheap plant could become the new marijuana
Tuesday, March 11, 2008 | 5:39 PM TALLAHASSEE, FL -- 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!" and "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.
Story continues belowAdvertisementNative 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.
It is not the same as the ornamental garden plant known as salvia.
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 the 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.
It's hard to say how widespread the use of salvia is. Because it is legal in most states, law enforcement officials don't compile statistics.
A study of released last month by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services found just under 2 percent of people age 18 to 25 surveyed in 2006 reported using salvia in the past year. A 2007 survey of more than 1,500 San Diego State University students 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 unanimously passed the salvia bill on 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.

(Copyright ©2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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'nuff said!

mannn i remember like a year ago me n a couple buddies found some salvia plants at home depot like sittin outside in ther plant section n we jacked em up dried em out and smoked it all mixed wit a little bud even tho it wasnt divinorum kinda gave me a headdache

wonderful example of how our war on drugs just makes more drugs

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Life.. by Marshall Mathers
What is life?
Life is like a big obstacle
put in front of your optical to slow you down
And everytime you think you gotten past it
it's gonna come back around and tackle you to the damn ground
What are friends?
Friends are people that you think are your friends
But they really your enemies, with secret indentities
and disguises, to hide they true colors
So just when you think you close enough to be brothers
they wanna come back and cut your throat when you ain't lookin
What is money?
Money is what makes a man act funny
Money is the root of all evil
Money'll make them same friends come back around
swearing that they was always down
What is life?
I'm tired of life.........

That's got my ass hyper
I pray that god answers, maybe I'll ask nicer

The Natzi's would have loved the war on drugs

i have had salvia and it is garbage you would need a ton of it just to get a tingle i tried chewin it ,smokin itand makin tea out of it what happened nada all i got was a headache. Not for me thanks

what kind of buzz are u ment to get from this stuff?? never heard of it around my area..

There's a widely used drug like that, that I saw on a National Geographic show...they'd all chew or smoke a shit load, then start drooling all over themselves....until some putz says lets tie a rope around our ankles and jump off shit..All that drooling must be a real girl magnet.....

I thought the war on drugs was run by NAZIs

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'nuff said!

the "war on drugs" causes it; and then your follow the leader thing starts snowballing. marijuana is illegal, expensive, and sometimes hard to find (esp. for kids, which are the main group doing shit such as salvia); which makes people look for legal ways to get f'ed up. and they find bs such as this plant, which can be bought at any herbal supply; they start getting loaded on it, parents start finding out, and bam; new "illegal drug". louisiana was the first state to add salvia to its list of "prohibited drugs". new easy niche in the black market right there. the same thing applies for synthetic drugs; when a new designer drug is made it is sold legally as a research chemical; after about two years, it becomes well known enough that the dea jumps on, classifies it, and puts it on the terrorists black market. every time one is outlawed, a chemist somewhere cooks up another one (2-cb, 2-ct7, ghb, amt, etc.)

counterproductive, retarded fucking government we have

__________________
Life.. by Marshall Mathers
What is life?
Life is like a big obstacle
put in front of your optical to slow you down
And everytime you think you gotten past it
it's gonna come back around and tackle you to the damn ground
What are friends?
Friends are people that you think are your friends
But they really your enemies, with secret indentities
and disguises, to hide they true colors
So just when you think you close enough to be brothers
they wanna come back and cut your throat when you ain't lookin
What is money?
Money is what makes a man act funny
Money is the root of all evil
Money'll make them same friends come back around
swearing that they was always down
What is life?
I'm tired of life.........

That's got my ass hyper
I pray that god answers, maybe I'll ask nicer

Sally D requires higher heat than MJ to work. Get a good torch lighter and take 2 good hits,hold it in as long as you can. Its an unbelievable trip once it hits but only last 10 minutes. I use the 20X extract.