Letters to the Editor

• Salvia- not that simple?

  [Read the article: Confessions of a salvia eater]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  First, to Baloo--

  Drug users tend to feel the need to rationalize their use to non-users because so many non-drug users judge them automatically guilty (of- you name it) for their usage that in the 20th Century, the the non-drug using majority has a proven track record of support for criminalizing that private personal behavior.

  I think there are objective grounds for considering that anyone who gets so panicked and hysterical about the private personal behaviors of some of their neighbors that they consider demanding their criminalization had best address their own mental disorder, before they project judgements on others.

  That said, I'm not happy about the current market for Salvia as a commercial commodity- especially the sale of its concentrated distillate, mail order sales, and its easy availability to minors. I think it's irresponsible profiteering. I think people are glossing over the hazards of Salvia, which are undeniable. Read a representative sample of the literature. total loss of motor control and total amnesia are frequently reported effects from strong doses. Salvia is not kid stuff. High-dose effects are several orders of magnitude more powerful than cannabis- arguably more powerful than psychedelics like LSD.

  I think that Salvia users should acknowledge that the current push for its prohibition hasn't appeared in a vacuum- it's been prompted by the serious consequences resulting from using it in reckless and irresponsible ways- especially by people too young to be legally allowed to purchase alcohol, who nonetheless have access to this potent hallucinogenic extract.

  I think that live Salvia plants should be legal for purchase, and personal possession and use of non-commercial quantities of salvia and its extracts should remain legal. If it's such a profound experience, people should pay the dues associated with entering into a relationship with a natural entheogenic substance, rather than purchasing it like someone buying concert tickets, or a hamburger.

  I'm opposed to the present commercial sales of Salvia as a dried substance, or its extract. I don't think that the sellers should suffer criminal penalties as long as they surrender their inventories, but I think it's hazardous enough to warrant- at minimum- strict regulation of sales, and standards of purity and dosage.

  That's my middle path on the Salvia question. I don't have much hope of such a reasoned approach happening- I think the hysterics still have too much power. But I don't think it's honest or productive to deny the hazards of an uncontrolled market in such a powerful substance, either.

  Permalink Wednesday, June 18, 2008 02:46 PM