Ohio is one step away from making
Salvia Divinorum illegal. This would make it the 6th state in the country to ban it outright, consequently providing awesome economic opportunities for black market entrepreneurs. On Wednesday, the House of Reps voted 92-4 to approve the bill. The Senate passed it a day earlier, 33-0. With the House's passage, the bill goes on the Governor's table, where there is no indication that Gov. Ted Strickland will not sign it.
I don't like salvia. Most people do it only once, as the effects are not exactly pleasant. And even on YouTube, those videotaped smoking salvia (these videos are partially to blame for lawmakers knowing what salvia is and becoming really, really scared of it) are more for the entertainment of the people around him or her than for the actual user. I would post some examples, but the videos are all stupid and not worth your time -- however, many of those same idiotic videos have attracted hundreds of thousands of hits (pun intended). However, there is one guy who parodies salvia user videos, and is actually quite
funny.
These videos, as well as the unsubstantiated anecdotes of a "causal" link between salvia and danger to others, have put the legality of salvia in a precarious position for some people who use it for spiritual reasons. There is also evidence that salvia treat pain as well as pyschological disorders. Oh yeah, all the literature on salvia suggests that it isn't addictive, either.
Regardless if you love it or hate it, the scientific possibilities suggest that rendering saliva a class I substance (no redeeming medical value) severely impedes substantive research into its medicinal potential. That is, after all, what they do to things they don't understand.
Posted by Evan G.