You learn something new every day. Texas state Sen. Craig Estes has a bill, SB 1796, up in the Senate Criminal Justice Commitee this afternoon banning use of Salvia divinorum by Texans 18 and under.I'd not heard of this drug before, but it appears to be a psychoactive plant originally used by Indians in Mexico as part of shamanic religious rituals. But the plant grows naturally in Texas, and after studies in the 1990s identified its hallucinogenic qualities, its use for recreational purposes, said the Senator, has expanded among youth.
Have y'all ever heard of Salvia, or have any experience with it? Sen. Estes said to Google it, so I did. This source says that Salvia "is not habit-forming, not addictive, and does not present a significant risk to public health or safety," but I'd never heard of it.
UPDATE: Ketih Plocek at the Houston Press' Houstoned blog points to a story the tabloid did in 2003 where several staffers tested salvia and reported their experiences. Seeing the drug's effects and aftereffects described, I agree with the commenters who suggested Salvia divinorum is unlikely to become a popular recreational drug - unless they ban it. MORE from the Texas Observer.
So this is what the politicians in Texas are on!
ReplyDeleteit's good stuff! you can buy it here in austin at 'garden of the ancients'
ReplyDeleteChocolate, "is not habit-forming, not addictive, and does not present a significant risk to public health or safety,". It does provide a lot of pleasure to a lot of people. Are we going to ban it's use by people under 18?
ReplyDeleteDefine "good stuff"? What does it feel like? How do you ingest it?
ReplyDeleteAnd please, let's not give the Legislature any ideas talking about banning chocolate - don't even think such a thing while they're in session! :)
I bought some off the internet a few years ago . . . you smoke it for an immediate effect, though there are other ways of using it. It tastes terrible. The effect only lasted a few seconds, which was too long for me! It was definitely psychedelic, the walls started changing shape and closing in on me. That freaked me out, so I never even smoked the rest of it. I guess I was hoping it would be more like marijuana - definitely NOT the case.
ReplyDeleteBanned, eh? Like marijuana is banned for all of us. And look how well that law works.
ReplyDeleteCan someone please, please insist that our elected representatives come to grips with reality?
Yes, from what I understand, it's mildly psychoactive, not particularly pleasant, and for those not expecting it, can be alarming, but not dangerous (particularly when used responsibly).
ReplyDeleteIt will never become very popular.... unless, of course, they ban it.
This stuff is a very potent psychoactive substance that only lasts a short duration.
ReplyDeleteEveryone I have spoken to that has done this stuff has no desire to use on any regular basis, and most don't even care about it.
It is consumed by smoking, optimally in a bong with a high flame.
Banning the substance would probably escalate its popularity.
Salvia is otherwise known as sage. White sage has been used for centuries in Native American ritual, and common sage (salvia officinalis) is good with onion to stuff chickens with.
ReplyDeleteIf the plant grows wild, I'd love to see how anyone could enforce the ban.
Honestly, some of the Senators don't even know what the real world is like. They have lived their lives in a glass dome and have no real ideas of what a good bill is and have to look for things to make up a bill. Unfortunaltely, Mr. Estes is one of those.
ReplyDeleteWe ask our Senators to do the important things like clean up TDCJ, TYC and give teachers a decent pay raise so they can teach and also pay for their bills and food. And we get this???
Get off whatever you are on Senator Estes and get in the real world.
If it grows wild then they can prosecute anyone who uses as a dealer, plea bargain it to possession or send you to rehab if your daddy is rich. OOPS! I forgot that it isn't addictive so rehab won't work. But then again if you live in an alternate reality you can bankroll the rehab industry as well. Another constituency for the drug war?
ReplyDeleteDoc Anderson testified to its incapacitating properties, opening the door to date rape scenarios, which is a valid concern. How a rapist would get his date to ingest it unknowingly was left un-explained. Does it come in pills?
ReplyDeleteflawedplan: haven't heard of pills, but every source I've seen (see the Houston Press item linked in the update) says the effects are short-lived and quite disorienting. From that, and the ingestion problem you mention, it hardly seems a top option for a date rape drug.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am in complete agreement that NO ONE should bring up the banning of chocoloate until the Lege is out of session! If they're going to criminalize sage plants growing wild, there may be no lengths they won't go to. So shhhhhhhh!
BTW, if you've ever studied indigenous Mexican cultures at all, most of them dating back to the mother culture, the Olmecs, used natural hallucinogens as part of religious spiritual rituals, a way to get in touch with the human soul itself, they believed - to access a part of the human psyche not normally available to us that's organically connected to the rest of the world. According to myth, priests could even project their soul astrally into other physical places and dimensions by means of hallucinogenic plants, not for recreation but as part of a spiritual quest and search for guidance from the Gods. So this has a long history of religious use, so I wish there had been some discussion of potential religious freedom aspects.
Estes is first, last, and always a grandstander.
ReplyDeleteHe reminds of the date who spends the entire evening flashing his money clip and talking about how popular and important he is so you'll know how lucky you are to be out with him. ewww
Salvia divinorum is a truly sacred plant and should not be used by the faint of heart.Its effects can range from mild euphoria to OBE's and even dysphoric effects. It as gritsforbreakfast said has been used for years by the indigenous people of Mexico and should NOT be taken lightly. Only adult who are sound of mind and have a clear intent should use this key to communicate with the gods.
ReplyDeleteTexas is run by retards. Wait until they find out that the same effects to a lesser degree can be recieved from regular forms of sage and rosemary. Imagine all of the bland foods in Texas. Stupid people in office.
ReplyDeleteSalvia will never be a recreational street drug;it's effects are like taking off in the space shuttle without a seat belt. The "pastor" involved should be devoting time to meth/ice,coke,alcohol addiction and recovery. He's a show-boater,and typical of fanatical religious poseurs. Sanity is not Texas legislator's forte',obviously.
ReplyDeleteWhy must we ban substances only for the pure fact they bring us pleasure? I understand that the government is doing whatever it can to make the general population uncomfortable, while it spends all of it's time dealing with welfare issues and oil monopoly. Look where it's got us? We have "power breeders" having babies for checks and gas at 3.10 a gallon with skyward expectations.
ReplyDeleteIt seriously bothers me that the government will do whatever it can to make us misreable. Screw you guys, and stop interfereing with my life! You're not paying my bills, you're not doing ANYTHING for me, why should I do anything for you. Smoke pot forever!
Salvia Divinorum,God given herbs soon to be ban, isn't it ironic. In return the government drives up the price of Salvia by making it illegal (is our government illegal) makes the conditions for the purchase of Salvia shady, makes average Joe a criminal. This act of banning will only put Salvia Divinorum ON the streets. The government seems to be manipulated by video clips on UTube of people wanting attention. Who's running our country?
ReplyDeleteThis message is from a tax payer
At best senator Craig Estes is only banning people under the age of 18. Some other states are banning all from Salvia Divinorum including my state,Illinois. I think banning it all together is a big mistake. As far as I know there hasn't been any problems with Salvia. If any problems have came about I bet it was with someone under the age of 18. Salvia Divinorum is a natural God given plant for this earth,it has been growing for a long time. I geuss the government is claiming it's wrong or a mistake. I have an idea why don't the state of Illinois keep it legal for adults only and restrict it from those that are under the age of 18, similar like whats done for alcohol. Let's start to make some since out of this.
ReplyDeleteThis is the most informative website on salvia divinorum I have found so far. To learn more check it out!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.SalviaSociety.org
Can this salvia divinorum be compared with dmt? do they have similar effects or similar psychedelic effects?
ReplyDeleteYeah, they love banning plants but don't seem to care at all that the FDA has approved all sorts of toxins that lace our food.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post! It was extremely informative and helpful! I just learned everything I need to know today.
ReplyDeleteI love salvia and the new k2 herb. I don't want it banned. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDelete