SALVIA ISN'T CLOSE TO THE NEW MARIJUANA

California is one of 12 states that have pending legislation regarding
the restriction of salvia, a psychedelic drug whose effects last from
five to 15 minutes.

Looking to get high? If lawmakers around the country have their way,
it's going to get a lot harder.

A new obsession over the legal status of salvia divinorum, a
hallucinogenic plant grown in Oaxaca, Mexico, has some considering
expanding the War on Drugs to fight the distribution and consumption
of the plant. States across the United States as well as a handful of
European nations, have enacted laws regulating and even banning the
substance, with the Drug Enforcement Administration actively pushing
to have it outlawed at the federal level.

Without the slightest bit of research or evidence, the DEA has
compared salvia to other hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD and Ketamine
and has branded it the new marijuana.

With salvia freely sold in most all tobacco or paraphernalia shops,
which are alive and in full force throughout El Cajon and Pacific
Beach, concerned parents and community leaders are lobbying to get
salvia classified as a schedule one drug. Yet, for all the clamor, the
effects and dangers of salvia have been hugely overblown.

While such dangerous generalizations are easily fed to politicians and
parents, combined with the uniquely American affinity to heavily
legislate against anything drug related, the public reaction seems
entirely predictable. There is actually no conclusive evidence on the
effects of this substance, and the difficulties the government has had
criminalizing the plant are a testament to the weakness of its case.
There have been few, if any, cases of salvia dependence, overdose or
links to criminal activity. The same cannot be said with regards to
currently legal drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco.

With alcohol responsible for 1,700 U.S. college student deaths per
year and tobacco-related deaths standing at five million annually
worldwide, the criminalization argument is severely undercut.

The Salvia Divinorum Research and Information Center, one of the
premier salvia authorities and comprehensive databanks, explains the
fallacy in comparing salvia to any other drug - especially compared to
current schedule one drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine and
ecstasy. Possessing these drugs is a felony and will often lead to
jail time.

Through 20 years of research on the subject, the research center has
concluded that, unlike other hallucinogens that last for hours or even
days, the typical salvia high is no longer than a few minutes and the
overall effect is sedative. Inflated fears of drug-crazed salvia
addicts driving down the freeway or stealing to feed their addiction
have no factual basis. Not only has salvia not been proven addictive,
but sellers have few repeat customers because most users don't enjoy
the experience.

It all boils down to this: Under a campaign of misinformation, the
government is trying to ban a non-addictive, scarcely used, naturally
occurring plant that most people don't find enjoyable. In case you
missed the news, the government can't even pay for students to go to
school. How responsible is it for the already financially
overstretched federal and state government to expand its role and
budget? In a time when our prisons are filled to capacity, do we need
to incarcerate non-violent drug users? I think not.

The best solution is a compromise between a total ban and completely
unrestricted access. A cursory search of YouTube has dozens of
user-uploaded experiences with the drug, many with hundreds of
thousands of views. The glorification and ease of access by younger
kids to the plant is a focal point in parents' battle to protect their
children. Legislation that restricts purchasing and possessing salvia
by minors would be a positive step. For proponents of the drug, making
a concession to their opponents and reframing the argument as an issue
of personal liberty would be a prudent strategic move. And the outcry
of parents against salvia would be greatly muted if they saw
legislative action to protect their interest - their kids.

The lack of conclusive evidence on the dangers of salvia, the low user
rate and the lack of funding to prosecute salvia users points to a
public policy of restriction and discouragement, not of
prosecution.

Just watch those YouTube videos - I guarantee you won't try it after
that.