POWERFUL DRUG NEEDS TO BE LEASHED

Pot smokers are holding the world hostage.

Here is their only demand: Legalize pot.

Here's the threat: If you don't, we'll find more hardcore, legal drugs to
smoke or otherwise ingest.

That's exactly the case with salvia divinorum - AKA salvia, salvia d. or
diviner's sage.

While the generally mild marijuana is still banned, this much more potent
hallucinogenic herb is perfectly legal.

Stories of the hallucinogenic pot alternative are all over the Internet.
Typing salvia into Google produces 804,000 results, many of users telling
their stories, often saying they got too messed up to use the drug again.

Even Jim Bender, who sells the legal drug in Woodstock, admits there needs
to be regulations on it. He refuses to sell it to anyone under 18, but says
some parents will come in and buy it for their kids. That's solid
parenting. "Happy 16th birthday Jimmy. Here's a hallucinogenic drug to mess
yourself up on. Now go play Superman on the roof."

The point is that this drug needs to be regulated and quickly.

Health Canada doesn't list the drug as a controlled substance, but said
it's ready to take action if it finds reason to.

Here are a couple: people are (or think they are) crawling into their TVs
and talking to Aboriginals who walk out of a poster on the wall to chat. If
those are not reasons enough, what are?

It's reminiscent of another popular drug that hit the streets many years
ago. It was supposed to do nothing but make people peaceful and was said to
have no adverse after-effects. It's been seen now that ecstasy (or E) is
anything but harmless. There have been several fatal overdoses. Because E
gives users a large shot of seratonin - an organic compound produced in the
body that is involved in things like sleep, depression and memory - health
organizations are concerned depression may be a long-term consequence. The
neurotransmitter is sort of the body's natural happy drug. It's possible
the natural seratonin levels in heavy users will decrease because the body
doesn't feel the need to produce it anymore.

The long-term effects of salvia are not yet known either, but that doesn't
seem to matter. People are willing to take the risk to get the high.

The drug is illegal in countries such as Australia and Denmark, but nothing
has been done in Canada. In fact, unless Health Canada finds the need to
use "extreme measures," it could take 12 to 18 months to get a regulatory
amendment to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in place.

That's ridiculous. While people are getting completely messed up, unable to
care for themselves because this drug is so potent, Health Canada is
sitting on its hands waiting for someone to die.

And all the while, pot remains illegal. We know all the ill effects, which
are mild compared to most drugs, including alcohol.

What this means is people who might otherwise be kicking back on their
couch, chowing down on a bag of Doritos, are getting arrested. But others
who are shrinking, talking to posters or crawling into their TVs (actual
hallucinogenic experiences salvia users have described), walk the streets
unhindered, unless they get eaten by an angry stop sign along the way.

What's wrong with this picture?