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A bill that would outlaw the hallucinogenic drug salvia went through a first read Wednesday in the state House Judiciary Committee.
State Rep. Will Coursey, D-Benton, presented HB 228 to the committee Wednesday — a bill that would make possession of, trafficking in or cultivation of salvia illegal.
Coursey said he sees the drug as a threat to Kentucky’s teens and young adults.
“I think it should be taught as a part of the curriculum in school programs such as D.A.R.E. as a gateway drug.†Coursey said.
The Salvia divinorum plant, which is usually smoked or chewed, is outlawed in 13 states, but is legal in Kentucky.
The popularity of this drug is growing, and citizens of Kentucky should be concerned about putting a stop to the trend before it becomes a problem, he said.
Robert Walker, assistant professor for UK’s Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, was uncertain about the concern for the drug.
“I’m not sure why there would be concern in legislature other than it is a substance with hallucinatory effects — most of which are unpleasant and very short-lived,†Walker said.
Effects of using the drug can be “a sense of loss of body, overlapping realities and hallucinations,†according to the Drug Enforcement Administration Web site. Physical effects of the drug can be lack of coordination, dizziness and slurred speech.
The use of salvia can greatly increase the risk of injury or death because it impairs judgment and affects the senses, according to the Web site.
Owen Spears, an engineering sophomore, said a bill banning another drug was pointless.
“If people want to get high, they’re going to get high,†Spears said. “There are so many ways people find that all have the same effect. I don’t think the bill is worth it.â€
Salvia is not dangerous unless used in a very irresponsible way. Effects last for little more than 5 minutes when smoked and are much less pronounced when chewed. There have been no official reports of salvia causing any deaths or injuries of any kind. Alcohol is far more dangerous and remains legal. The intoxication and disorientation can last hours with alcohol (over 10 times longer than salvia) rather than minutes. In 2006, 15,829 deaths were related to drunk driving and many more due to alcohol related physical problems. There HAVE been scientific studies done on salvia that show that it has ZERO RISK OF ADDICTION, NO KNOWN NEGATIVE AFTEREFFECTS, and CAN POSSIBLY BE USED TO TREAT DEPRESSION and DRUG ADDICTION (that’s right one study showed that after using salvia, cocaine addicts had dramatically lowered cravings for cocaine with no new cravings for salvia). All these news people are doing is perpetuating rumors that have absolutely no basis in reality. The only thing they get right is that it does make you hallucinate for about 5 min (it then leaves you feeling relaxed an happy for a while after). During these hallucinations, it is extremely rare for one to desire to move. Part of the hallucination usually includes a feeling of heaviness and a desire to lay or sit down, so it is unlikely that anyone would hurt themselves on a normal dose. At an extremely high dose (which is almost impossible to achieve) there have been reports of thrashing about which could hurt someone but there still have been no know serious injuries or deaths. Whereas if you take an large dose of alcohol, you DIE (as has been reported THOUSANDS of times). So as you can see if we allow alcohol to remain legal then we should allow salvia to be legal, whereas if saliva is illegal, ALCOHOL SHOULD DEFINITELY BE ILLEGAL TOO. This is all coming from a salvia user who has great relationships with family and friends and who maintains a 3.8/4.0 at an engineering school at a fairly prestigious university. If salvia is made illegal some people like me who do not keep up with the news as much will be caught off guard and may have their lives ruined by a prison sentence for committing a NON-VIOLENT, VICTIMLESS CRIME. I think that the lawmakers are the ones that should be thrown in prison for suggesting such an unfair law.
I think a better approach to regulating saliva would be to ban the sale to and use by minors who may not be mature enough to respect the plant (just as many don’t respect the powers of alcohol).
The proposed anti-salvia law is ridiculous, as are the marijuana laws. I have no interest in either, but if our government really wants to protect our health in such a way, they should ban tobacco instead. My father died of a heart attack partially caused by smoking. I just buried my mother on Monday; she died of complications from lung cancer surgery, a cancer almost certainly caused by her 60 years of smoking. Her last 9 years of life had a greatly diminished quality of life due to 3 strokes, also attributable to smoking. At the very least, tobacco should be very heavily taxed to save future generations. “Smoke and die broke” should be the effects of a tobacco habit and would cut down greatly on the recruitment of new tobacco addicts. If the states won’t do it, the federal government should. Yes, my parents chose to start smoking and keep on smoking even when the dangers became known. Still, the greatly increased cost of tobacco addiction would hit people in the pocketbooks, encourage people to quit, and make folks think twice before starting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIlyXs8VZvo
Salvia needs to be researched more before its gone… Club13 Herbals sells Salvia and has compiled a huge article base on their homepage. Check it out:
http://www.club13.com
“Effects of using the drug can be “a sense of loss of body, overlapping realities and hallucinations,†according to the Drug Enforcement Administration Web site. Physical effects of the drug can be lack of coordination, dizziness and slurred speech.”
If this is the criteria then should they ban whiskey as well?
i have seen peooutube and older friends in real life and it doesnt seem like its something dangerous enough to ban