PARENTS NEED TO BE AWARE OF NEW DRUG KIDS ARE SMOKING

To the editor:

This is a message to parents: Do you know what your kid is
smoking?

Salvia. Heard of it? If you are a flower gardener, you probably have
heard of various forms of the plant and flower, salvia (sage). There
are hundreds of variations of this plant. And certain species of the
plant produce hallucinogenic effects when smoked or injested.

One particular species, Salvia Divinorum, "Diviner's Sage," is a
powerful psychoactive herb. The plant has been around for centuries
and has traditionally been used by the Mazatec Indians, primarily to
facilitate visions in the context of curing or divination.

Smoking Salvia Divinorum produces mild to intense psychedelic
experiences which begin approximately 1 minute after smoking and last
about 5 minutes, with less intense experiences lasting another 5-10
minutes and returning to normal within 20-30 minutes. Smoking is
commonly done using water pipes (bongs or hookah pipes).

Chewing the leaves is another option but does not tend to give the
same effect. Not much has been done to study long-term effects of use
of this substance, which is where the major concern lies. Some early
studies are finding links between use of this substance and
depression. And due to the decrease in mental awareness and muscle
coordination, there are concerns for serious injury or death. A small
percentage of users have also reported feelings of "anxiety" for 24
hours after use.

What we do know, is that it is currently being used by teens in the
Noble County area. It is available at most "paraphernalia" stores and
you can actually go online to various sites to buy it and find out the
best ways in which to use it. There are various YouTube videos of
people using it also.

So parents - the kids know it's out there and now so do you. I
encourage all of you to go online and take a look at all the
information that is available on this substance. And then talk with
your youth about the concerns you have with the use of any psychedelic
substances, legal or not.

JANET STORK

Drug Free Noble County