Newsletter Archives - Vol. 1 No. 1 August, 2006

SALVIA DIVINORUM

Most of you know that we used to sell Salvia Divinorum on our website. Those who have ordered it from us before and new customers a like are always asking if we still carry Salvia. The answer is no, we no longer offer Salvia for sale.

This may be surprising to some people considering Salvia divinorum is probably the best selling single herb in the world right now. Yes it is number one in sales worldwide. So one might ask why Salvia is so popular now why are we no longer carrying it. I explain why in just a bit.

First off what is Salvia divinorum? Salvia divinorum (also known as Diviner's sage, Magic Mint, María Pastora, or simply Salvia). The Latin name Salvia divinorum literally translates to "sage of the seers".

Basically Salvia is a psychoactive herb which contains a chemical substance that alters one's brain function, results in temporary changes to perception, mood, consciousness and behavior. Once used primarily for spiritual purposes by Shamans in recent years Salvia has become as a recreational psychoactive drug because of its hallucinogenic effects.

Now for the more complex scientific explanation: What makes Salvia such a powerful hallucinogenic is Salvinorin A. It is the main active psychotropic constituent of the plant. Salvinorin A is a compound that is active at the extremely low doses of 0.2 - 0.5 mg, and has been described as being similar to LSD in potency, making it the most potent naturally occurring psychoactive drug known to date.

The most popular Salvia plant is grown in the southern Oaxaca Mountains of Mexico. To get an idea where Oaxaca is it borders the states of Guerrero to the west, Puebla to the southwest, Veracruz to the north, and Chiapas to the east. To the south Oaxaca fronts the Pacific Ocean.

Ok enough of the geography lesson.

In 2002 there was a big push by Congress to make Salvia illegal. The bill was introduced by Rep Joe Baca. Subsequently several attempts were made by congress to get the bill passed however it failed to get final approval. With Salvia becoming more and more popular as a recreational drug it cropped up everywhere to be sold. Head shops everywhere offered it for sale and since there were no set guidelines as to who could purchase Salvia it ended up in the hands of underage minors. This brought down a wrath of complaints from parents who discovered their children using Salvia. Since it was so misunderstood most parents though it was like marijuana and became increasing concerned of how easily it is obtained. The Internet made it even easier to buy and more and more minors obtained Salvia which followed by increased complaints to the authorities bring adverse attention to the herb.

Eventually individual states stepped in to stop the sales of Salvia and introduced their own laws governing Salvia. To the dismay of many people who advocate responsible the responsible use of Salvia these states came down hard making Salvia a class I controlled substance. Currently Salvia is illegal in Missouri, Delaware, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and all branches of the U.S. Military. With pending legislation in; Illinois, Alaska, New York, and New Jersey.

There are so many states making laws against the sale and possession of Salvia and more pending we felt it was best to remove Salvia from our website to avoid any unnecessary scrutiny and attention to our industry. We don’t want government agencies, DEA other authorities, individuals or organizations looking for any excuse to make herbal smoking products illegal simply by association.

So to make a loooooooooooong story short, we stopped selling it.

SMOKING HERBS

History tells us that the smoking of herbs has played a part in many well-known cultures and is well documented as to their uses and effects. I thought it might be interesting to list the many known smoking herbs for your consideration. While the herbs listed below can be smoked they are also said to have beneficial medicinal properties when used in certain ways. Some of these herbs might be harmful if used inappropriately, so the information below is provided for educational purposes only.