Few police, parents, teachers or counselors at schools have even heard of it, but the herb Salvia Divinorum is a powerful psychedelic from Mexico —  Also known as Diviner’s Sage or Sally-D, Salvia Divinorum is extremely intense. It is as powerful or more so than LSD and produces vivid hallucinations and out-of-body experiences. These trips as they are called last up to 10 minutes, tapering off over half an hour, with the nature of the trip dependent on the person’s mind-set and surroundings. Some people actually report little or no effects.

Salvia is native to an area known as Sierra Mazatec. It has been used by the native Mazatec for an unknown amount of time. Its use was first recorded by western science in 1938. It is NOT for recreational use (i.e., it is not a party drug like marijuana). Unfortunately, almost nothing is known about either the long-term or short-term health issues relating to Salvia divinorum.

However, unlike the drug it mimics it is not habit-forming or addictive. Yet it is a powerful consciousness-altering herb that is being widely used by adults and minors for recreational use. So needless to say it is appropriate to prohibit sales and delivery to minors. It is also appropriate to prohibit reckless use, such as driving a vehicle while inebriated. There are numerous laws in affect against reckless salvia users (e.g., laws that prohibit public endangerment, public intoxication, reckless driving, and other irresponsible use). Salvia divinorum is neither useful nor humane. It is how people abuse this herb that is dangerous and  irresponsible.

Salvia is not like what you expect. You will find that salvia is significantly different from what you may have encountered before. It is mostly used by those wishing to explore deep meditative states, spiritual realms, mysticism, the nature of consciousness and reality, or the possibilities of shamanistic healing. Experiences vary with the individual, set, and setting as well as with dose and route of administration. In addition to your personal chemical makeup and sensitivity to herbs.

Salvia effects are a short-lived inebriation that is very different from that of alcohol. However, like alcohol it interferes with the ability to drive, produces incoordination (ataxia), and may produce slurred speech. The inebriation, not marijuana-like, and is not a marijuana substitute. At higher doses Salvia produces visionary trances. At lower doses visions consist mainly of closed-eye imagery similar to the phenomena that many people experience when falling asleep. At this level communication with others is still easy and you can move about although clumsiness does occur. With a higher dose vivid visual images occur even with the eyes open, and with the eyes closed you may completely enter the visionary world, and it will seem quite real, but upon opening your eyes you reestablish contact with your surroundings. Speech is difficult. At still higher doses, you remain conscious but completely enter an inner realm and lose all contact with your actual surroundings. Some people may move around in this deep trance state and for this reason a sitter is required for anyone seeking to explore such deep levels. With very high dosage a brief period of unconsciousness or at least the inability to subsequently remember the experience occur.

Because of widespread abuse of both users and sellers of Salvia, several countries have enacted laws that prohibit possession and/or sale of Salvia divinorum. In some cases, the penalties for violating these laws are severe.

As of this article the following countries have made laws regarding Salvia Divinorum. The following countries have made it illegal to possess or sell Salvia Divinorum: Australia,  Belgium,  Croatia,  Denmark,  Germany,  Italy,  Japan,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Poland,  Romania, South Korea, and Sweden. It is illegal to sell but legal to possess Salvia in Chile and Spain. It is ok to possess Salvia in Estonia, Finland, Iceland, and Norway for medicinal purposes with a doctor’s perscription.

U.S. States with laws prohibiting Salvia are extensive. Salvia Divinorum is illegal in  Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Virginia. In a few states Salvia is legal as long as it is not intended for human consumption: Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Virginia.

Originally posted 2010-11-10 22:33:17. Republished by Blog Post Promoter