Salvia Divinorum: Legality in Jeopardy?

Salvia divinorum may very well be the last vestige of free drug expression in the United States when it comes to natural psychoactive agents. The little-known substance is quite unlike any other recreational drug, and its relative obscurity in the national consciousness might be its greatest asset.

Salvia Divinorum is a plant indigenous to the Sierra Madre mountains in Oaxaca, Mexico. The plant itself, a short leafy shrub of the mint family is relatively inconspicuous and is not as easily identifiable as the characteristic five-leaf cannabis for example. The leaves of salvia contain the reactive molecule known as Salvinorum A, responsible for psychoactive effects.

Salvia is generally smoked, either in leaf form or as a concentrated extract that is sold in varying potencies. Unlike marijuana, salvia generally gives the user a much more quick-acting, short lasting, and intense psychoactive experience. Depending on the potency of the leaf or extract being used, the Salvia experience can vary greatly. Generally its effects are much more hallucinogenic than marijuana; however it is difficult to accurately compare its effects to hallucinogens such as psilocybin mushrooms or LSD.

Although Salvia has recently begun to be controlled in several countries worldwide, it is still legal to purchase, possess, and use Salvia Divinorum in the majority of the United States. Since Salvia is quite unlike other broad-spectrum controlled substances such as opiates or amphetamines, it is unlikely that it will be controlled according to the 1986 US Federal Analogue Act. This act controls substances that are not technically members of the families of scheduled substances, but are structurally similar enough to merit some level of control from the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Regardless of its current legal state in America, Salvia's future as a legal source of spiritual enlightenment and recreation might be in jeopardy. The DEA has already added the plant to its list of "Drugs and Chemicals of Concern" and the media has touted Salvia as a sort of "new LSD." However, due to the nature of Salvia's psychoactive effects, it seems unlikely that it will become the feared "new alternative recreational drug" it has been painted as in some media facets. Salvia trips peak very quickly and taper off almost as quickly, and the intensity of the trip itself is enough to discourage many curious people from trying it. Furthermore, the incapacitating effects of the plant make it unsuitable as a "party drug" in that users are largely incapable of moving or speaking coherently during an experience.

However, so long as a substance has potential for even nominal use by the U.S. population, there are sure to be legions of concerned parents and pandering lawmakers who will eventually scrutinize the exotic Mexican herb. If the false rumors of Salvia as a "new LSD" are disseminated, it is legitimate to speculate that Salvia could suffer the same fate as that substance. In the 1960s when LSD became a hot recreational drug after official reports of its benefits by Timothy Leary and others, reactionist backlash against "acid" eventually led to its illegal status. Witch hunt science and severe government media campaigns turned the tide of the American temperament to one of fear. In the case of many outlawed substances such as marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms, the majority of scientific research has ruled out any severe side-effects that would actually warrant government legislation. Yet, however positive hard data is, these substances are still, and are likely to remain illegal for quite some time.

Does Salvia carry risks with use? Of course it does. If you try to move around too much, operate machinery or a car, mix substances, or perform generally frivolous actions while on the substance there is a danger. But then again those same dangers exist when imbibing alcohol. Although Salvia is certainly receiving attention as a curious little anomaly within the recreational drug-using community, it seems unlikely that it will suddenly run rampant in suburbia. Online vendors of the substance certainly do not want to attract undue attention to themselves, regardless of the legal status of Salvia. This is one case where a lack of information might actually benefit the cause of Salvia remaining legal.

Will the legal status of Salvia Divinorum stand the test of time? Well, only time will tell.