SALVIA QUESTIONED

The New Paltz Police Department has issued a warning to parents in the
area about the Mexican herb, Salvia Divinorum, which teens are using
for its hallucinogenic effects.

The New York State government is taking steps to make the now legal
drug, more commonly referred to as salvia, illegal. Senator John J.
Flanagan is spearheading the movement.

"This drug is rapidly increasing in popularity among recreational drug
users, especially among young adults and adolescents," said Senator
Flanagan. "It is a drug that produces hallucinations similar to those
experienced by LSD and it is readily available and legally for sale on
the Internet."

Salvia can be found over the Internet and even in some local shops in
New Paltz. It can be found in leaf or extract form. The drug can be
taken by chewing, smoking or drinking it. Experiencing the drug
through the leaf causes a shorter and less intense experience, while
experiencing salvia through the extract form can cause a longer and
more intense experience.

Kon-tiki, a shop in downtown New Paltz, sells salvia at $2.95 per
gram. They only sell it in leaf form.

"It sells well," said a representative from Kon-tiki. "It's cheap and
legal, that's why. We get a lot of customers from it."

Many students from SUNY New Paltz have never heard of the drug.

"Salvia?" said junior production major Sean Dougherty. "I never heard
of it."

Scientific studies have found few negative effects from using the
drug. In studies done by William A. Carlezon in a Forced-Swim Test,
the drug was found to be a temporary depressant.

According to studies conducted by Texas A&M University department of
psychology, the drug can also be useful in therapy for drug addictions
to stimulants, amphetamines and opiates (i.e. cocaine,
methamphetamines, codeines, morphine, ecstasy).

In studies conducted by Thomas E. Prisinzano, Kevin Tidgewell and
Wayne W. Harding, it was found that salvia "possesses utility in the
treatment of opiate dependence and have been shown to have
anti-depressant activity as well as block stress-induced behavior
responses," as published in the American Association of Pharmaceutical
Scientists. It has also been proven to be an effective diuretic.

Salvia is commonly compared to LSD. However, it is uncommonly recorded
to cause one to have LSD flashbacks, but only when combined with other
drugs such as marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms.

Salvia is currently illegal in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Italy and
South Korea. It is recommended that when taking the drug that there is
at least one person present who is sober to make sure that nothing
goes wrong. Overdosing is relatively unheard of and there are no
recorded deaths from salvia. The drug is almost non-toxic and is not
addictive or habit-forming.

The drug is believed to be cultivated and bred by the Mazatec people,
found in the area of Oaxaca, Mexico. The drug was originally used in
traditional ceremonies similar to peyote, a drug that is legal in
certain Native American traditional ceremonies.