SALVIA NOT 'ADDICTIVE,' 'HARMFUL'; CRIMINALIZATION PROBLEMATIC

The current push to ban salvia demonstrates the senseless and
fear-driven nature of America's war on drugs.

Salvia is undeniably a powerful mind altering drug with hallucinogenic
properties that rival and even surpass those of other controlled
substances like LSD and Psilocybin. But is this reason enough to make
criminals out of individuals who want to experience its effects?

Do we have the need or even the right to control how sentient
individuals choose to explore their own consciousness?

There is no evidence that salvia has any addictive potential, or that
its use is either physically or mentally harmful.

Salvia has come to public attention because of the extremely potent
nature of the hallucinations it can induce.

However, it is this very characteristic that make it essentially
harmless to users and bystanders alike.

Few people even have the ability to stand up while under its
influence, much less engage in dangerous behaviors or criminal
activity. Furthermore, the experience is so profound that the drug
attracts very few repeat users, meaning the danger of abusive use is
minimal, if not non-existent.

Clearly, no one should be operating heavy machinery while in a
dissociative state.

But mind altering experiences are not inherently dangerous, and people
who wish to have such an experience in a safe way should be free to do
so. Finally, criminalizing the substance will certainly cause more
problems than it can solve.

Otherwise, upstanding citizens would become criminals in the eyes of
the law.

Matthew S. Miller

psychology senior