Salvia (not Saliva)

Salvia Divinorum is a member of the sage family of plants and is currently being considered for membership on the list of controlled substances. Here is a mini-documentary on the plant, should you desire to learn more (like how much dosage to use, if you are that sort of person…)

Salvia, not to be confused with either “saliva” (spit) or the decorative plant of the same name, is currently illegal in ten states. There are two main arguments employed as to why it should be outlawed in all states.

The first is that people are buying it over the internet and there is concern that people will be buying things that might not be Salvia-perhaps harmful things.

Of course, this is hardly a good reason to make it a controlled substance. After all, someone could buy peanut butter or seafood over the net and get shipped something harmful. This is hardly grounds to list lobsters as a controlled substance.

The second reason is that smoking a large dose of salvia extract can lead to an unpleasant experience. Some people describe this as a feeling of being disembodied with the added factor of thinking they will be unable to return.

In reply, the harm created by the substance does not seem to be beyond that inflicted by alcohol or tobacco. Hence, if it should be controlled because a large dose can have a negative effect, then tobacco and alcohol should also be outlawed. This is based on  my view that tobacco and alcohol should be used as the basis of comparison for what substances should be legal or illegal. As long as they remain legal, then logically any substance that is comparable to them in harm should also be legal. Given that salvia seems on par with both (and is perhaps less harmful) there seems to be no compelling reason to outlaw it based on the matter of harm.

One reason to keep salvia off the list is that it seems to have potential as a medicinal drug. Not in the sense that marijuana is sometimes a medical drug, but potentially as a pain killer, for the treatment of depression, or even in the treatment of substance addiction. Interestingly, salvia appears to be non-addictive itself.

In my own case, I don’t smoke anything-it would interfere with my running.