Teens, and now DEA, are on trail of hallucinogenic herb By Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY WASHINGTON — Federal drug agents are so concerned about the growing use of a little-known and accessible herb with hallucinogenic qualities that they are taking steps to treat it like cocaine, heroin and LSD, and make it illegal. The herb is salvia divinorum, a type of sage native to the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range in Mexico and used by natural healers there. It can alter perception and induce visions when smoked or chewed. Salvia emerged in the USA about three years ago. Word spread on the Internet. And now, teenagers and young adults in search of mind-bending experiences are trying it. Its price ranges from $8.95 to $120 an ounce depending on potency. It is sold in "head shops," on the Internet and, in one St. Louis suburb, a record shop at a mall. In St. Peters, Mo., young teens were smoking salvia that they bought at the mall until January, when the Board of Aldermen banned its sale to those younger than 18. "It's not like this substance is overtaking the streets of America, but I could see it becoming a problem as it becomes more available," said Sgt. Rick Gerger, a detective in St. Peters. The Drug Enforcement Administration agrees and is collecting information about the herb's active ingredients as the first step toward seeking to have it declared an illegal controlled substance. "My main concern is that young people are buying something and taking something that we know almost nothing about," said Frank Sapienza, chief of the DEA's drug evaluation section. But the herb has its defenders, who say there is little information that points to addiction or side effects with its use. "I find it really bizarre that you can outlaw a plant," said Kim Upton, who runs the Starlight Goddess metaphysical store in Louisville. The store sells salvia. "Even nutmeg taken in large quantities will give you a bigger buzz than LSD." Daniel Siebert of Malibu, Calif., sells salvia on the Internet for as much as $120 an ounce. His buyers are "spiritual seekers," he said. They must acknowledge that they have read information on salvia and that they are at least 18. He encourages people who take it to have sober "sitters" who watch so users don't hurt themselves while hallucinating. Even so, he says the DEA is overreacting to salvia. "It could never become popular like marijuana or Ecstasy," Siebert said. "The effects are not desirable for recreational drug users. It's not something that is fun. It's more of an existential ordeal."
Ah ha, you see? The DEA is on top of it! And they KNOW so much about drugs too...you can definitely trust their judgement when it comes to illegalization. Once again, hello DEA!
At least you Americans can rest safe in your beds while the DEA takes care of the 'drug crazed fiends' scooting about the streets of the USA. Hurray for the DEA! Not a bad slogan? BIG OK for the DEA!!... theres another!
it probably doesn't matter as those fuckers can basically do whatever they want, but i've read that the active chemical in salvia is unlike any other hallucinogenic because it lacks a Nitrogen molecule or something. this is also partly why no one understands exactly how salvia works. due to the rules of scheduling a substance, which states that it must be molecularly similar to another illegal substance, salvia's lack of Nitrogen may keep it out of the reach of those geniuses we call lawmakers.
**** it lets just outlaw everything it's ok for us to spend money on government .. that will always be legal
Should be when you don't know anything about a substance, try it.... Maybe that's not a good idea either, forget what I said I don't know what I'm talking about.
There's a drug on the streets of America that's very popular with young teens. It's easily available, usually sold in places users call 'markets' or 'stores'. Many abuse it, it's highly addictive and causes causes thousands of deaths a year. It's called alcohol. (Edited by rangerdanger at 7:26 pm on June 28, 2003)
Salvia is some EVIL **** folks. I smoked a couple of bowls of that **** with a friend after I had already drank half of a liter of Bicardi Dark. I was hearing fucking voices man! I thought I was gonna lose my God damn mind! They were like these really tripped out Marilyn Manson type electronic sounding voices. I had to really listen closely to make even a word or two out... but when i could make one out it would like jump out from the rest of the noise that i was hearing... Like all fucking backwards and distorted sounding... What really freaked me out was , when i went to turn off the TV (cuz i was freakin out) the voices seemed to get quieter. I was like... What the **** is that about? So i started to turn off everything in the house that was drawing electricity (I had alot of **** on) DVD player, stereo receiver, PC, another TV, Guitar amp... As I turned each one off the voices got quieter and quieter! I turned off everything in the house but I could still hear the voices trying to break through faintly in the back of my mind. Then!!! I hear the battery clock on the wall, ticking and THAT started freakin me the **** out! I TOOK THE BATTERY OUT OF THE CLOCK AND THE VOICES STOPPED IN THAT INSTANT! But I'm okay now. To me... **** Salvia! I've drank plenty more smoked alot more MJ than i had that night... and NEVER had any **** like that happen to me. My advice is stay the **** away from that ****... If you do smoke it, moderate man... and dont fiend on it like I did. Peace.
Man I got freaked out just from reading your post. You should become a professional writef if you aren't already one.
Didn't you guys know The Gov knows more than GOD! Why else would they protect us from these evil plants? Maybe if we geneticly alter them they will be better than nature can do and be more "safe" for us
Well how can the Govt, jack up the street value, and be the leader in imorting Salvia for the Black Market if they dont make it illegal? Ive had some very intense Salvia journeys, and I know it would only be a matter of time b4 it was made illegal.
Quick question I have tried salvia a few times, maybe half a dozen and haven;t really had an insane trip. I barely tripped, I mean I saw some different colors and shapes moving across the walls and such, but nothing to freaky. So my question is how did you guys smoke it, what strenght and how much? Back to the topic of this threat, the government really blows. Its another thing they can control and by the DEA starting to investigate it and saying how it might be dangerous and so forth, all that is going to do is give the plant exposure and increase its popularity tenfold. You would think the government would have learned this by now, guess not, the fucking idiots.
