LEGISLATURES NEED TO BAN SALVIA

A substance with an active compound that may be the strongest
hallucinogen gram for gram found in nature, according to an article by
the New York Times, is currently legal in Texas. Salvia divinorum, or
salvia, produces vivid hallucinations in users and should be banned in
the state and across the nation.

Salvia has historically been used in Mexico under the supervision of
Mazatec shamans in order to have revelations, but in the past 10
years, the drug has become popular for teens and college-aged people
around the country. According the Times, studies at college campuses
have estimated 7 percent of students have used salvia.

In males between the ages of 18 and 25, salvia is twice as popular as
LSD and almost as prominent as Ecstasy, according to estimates
published by the federal government.

Even with so many students using the drug, not a lot is known about
it. The long-term effects of salvia are unknown. Charles "Doc"
Anderson, a state representative in Waco who is trying to get salvia
banned, said that it may injure users' thought processes and affect
their moods permanently. On a recent episode of Dr. Phil where salvia
use was discussed, Dr. Travis Stork, an ER physician, said it's
possible that salvia may stunt brain function in developing brains.

Though these long-term effects haven't been confirmed, the short-term
side effects are dangerous enough that Texas legislation should be
passed to keep salvia off the shelves.

The short-term effect of salvia is often a sudden out-of-body type
experience, which can be solitary, introspective, but often fearful,
according to a 2003 bulletin from the Department of Justice. One
Baylor student who tried salvia told the The Baylor Lariat she didn't
feel like she had a body anymore. Another tried it in a parked car and
reported seeing a semi-truck driving directly at him and had to jump
out of the car to escape.

While these stories may seem harmless and maybe even funny to watch,
they can be dangerous. If a student were to get behind the wheel of a
car or were unaware of what they were doing, they could do serious
harm to themselves or others. A ban on the product would keep most
people from putting themselves into this situation.

It could be said that alcohol, a legal drug, also endangers users if
they get behind the wheel, but it takes much more alcohol to achieve
the dangerous effect that a small dose of the stronger types of salvia
can have after one hit. The effect of salvia may wear off anywhere
between five and 20 minutes, according to a WebMD Health News report,
but that's long enough for users to hurt themselves.

There have also been deaths that may have been linked to salvia,
though it hasn't been possible to confirm the extent of salvia's
involvement.

In March, 42-year-old Mario G. Argenziano from Yonkers, N. Y., shot
himself in the face only 10 minutes after smoking salvia, according to
a police report that was cited in a Times article. Argenziano's wife
told police that her husband was a gun collector and had grabbed a
handgun from the bedside table to show friends and then pointed it at
himself. She said he was laughing right before he fired the gun.
Yonkers police could not determine what part salvia played in his
death. One would have to consider salvia's role, especially since
Argenziano had no psychiatric history. He's also a gun collector,
which means that he probably knew how to handle on of his own guns.
It's no coincidence that he was smoking salvia 10 minutes before he
accidentally shot himself.

The Times article also talked about the death of a 17-year-old in
2006. Brett Chidester was a good student with no history of mental
illness. He had been smoking salvia several times a week and committed
suicide. Entries he had made in his journal suggested that salvia had
contributed to his feelings of hopelessness. Months after his death, a
medical examiner changed Chidester's death certificate to show his
salvia use as a factor contributing to his death. Delaware, where he
died, then passed a bill to ban salvia.

Some scientists say banning salvia will make it difficult to research
medical uses for the drug and slow medical progress, but a drug should
not be available to the general population when the negative effects
are unclear. What is obvious is that the drug can be dangerous; it
produces vivid hallucinations and users become unaware of reality. If
anyone is curious of how people on salvia act, there are dozens of
videos on YouTube showing salvia users falling over or reacting to
their hallucinations. Users are not only endangering themselves, but
they also pose a danger to others.

Texas and national legislatures need to act now. They have to be
pro-active in protecting citizens instead of waiting for a
salvia-related injury or death to prompt action.