Salvia Divinorum is an herb in the mint family that has hallucinogenic properties when smoked or chewed. People all over the United States use it for recreational purposes and, with no known addictive or toxic affects, it is legal in most American states and countries around the world. It’s legal status is under fire as raised media coverage, through the video Web site, YouTube and a recent New York Times report.
Salvia, as it is more commonly known, gives the user an intense hallucinogenic trip that some compare to LSD. The difference between the two is that one dose or hit of Salvia will only last around five minutes. Not much research has gone into Salvia but what has showed that the drug is not prone to addiction, overdose or abuse.
Popularizing the relatively unknown drug are videos posted by users of YouTube, an online video sharing site. The site has hundreds of videos of people smoking Salvia and experiencing the intense, three-five minute high during which they are usually incapacitated unable to speak coherently or even control their bodies. "I’ve used several psychedelics," said Brian Arthur, the founder of Mazatec Garden, an online salvia purveyor, "and salvia is definitely the most intense experience that I’ve ever had."
Some legislators who have seen these videos are calling for Salvia to be placed on the list of controlled substances, making it against federal law. This effort has not yet succeeded but Salvia is illegal in 13 states and a number of European and Asian countries.
A recent government survey found that 750,000 people used Salvia in 2007, making it twice as popular as LSD and almost as popular as Ecstasy, another mind-altering drug that is illegal and has known detrimental affects. It is available online and in head shops in a refined extract with more potency than the natural leaf.
Here is one of the YouTube videos that is raising eyebrows about the safety and legality of Salvia:
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