4A
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2007
SALVIA (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Andrew Wacker/KANSAN
Salvia is an herb that, when smoked, provides a short, intense high, which people often recalled causing them to forget where body parts were and giggle uncontrollably. Although it has been compared to marijuana, it is much different, providing a hallucinogenic effect lasting no longer than 15 minutes.
"It definitely shouldn't be legal anywhere," Carruthers said. "It's like 10 hits of acid. You lose sense of reality, don't know where you are and forget everything. It's bad."
One occasional user who defends salvia is Adrian Laurenzi, creator of SalviaSource.org, a Web site devoted to knowledge of the herb. Laurenzi, who has used salvia every few months for the past four years, said he recently volunteered to research salvia at the University of Arizona.
He said salvia could produce some unwanted side effects and some good ones.
"Mostly the experience itself is uncomfortable and often quite scary and unsettling." Laurenzi said. "But I mostly use it, to gain personal insights or explore consciousness."
Laurenzi said salvia gave users a sense of peace and a connection with their surroundings.
Despite her intense experience, Barker said salvia should remain legal. She
users quickly and intensely high has drawn a red flag, the herb also has potential medical benefits. Prisinzano said salvia could be used to help answer questions about some diseases.
"It's a unique plant in that it allows us to get insight into diseases such as Alzheimer's and develop antidotes," he said. Prisinzano said a lot of the body's central nervous system diseases are associated with hallucination. He said understanding how dementia was associated with Alzheimer's disease could allow Salvinorin A, a compound in salvia, to be used to get rid of those hallucinations.
said the high was more funny than scary.
"I'm glad it's legal because it's the funniest experience ever watching someone on it," Barker said. "But it's the craziest drug I've ever done, way crazier than any illegal drug I've tried."
"It's a unique plant in that it allows us to get insight into diseases such as Alzheimer's and develop antidotes."
Pristinzoa said salvia could also be used for treating drug abuse
Although salvia's ability to get
THOMAS PRISINZANO Associate professor of medicinal chemistry
and dealing with pain during procedures such as having wisdom teeth removed. One advantage is that it's not addictive like morphine or other painkillers.
ly using salvia tests on rodents to examine addictive behaviors associated with stimulant abuse.
Prisinzano said he was current-
"If you give a stimulant such as morphine or cocaine to an animal, it wants to stay in one spot," Prisinzano said. "Salvia is then given, and the rat will come to the other side of the chamber. So, salvia
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, Salvinorin A also has potential uses in treating depression, AIDS, HIV and schizophrenia.
is used to block an addiction."
Laurenzi said his research at Arizona suggested that Salvinorin
A may produce chemicals that help build a defense system against the threat of harmful viruses attacking the body.
Graham Carruthers,
Topeka junior
and younger
brother of
Cameron, said
a strong bitter taste and the side effects kicked in within ten seconds.
Saliva is illegal in Delaware, North Dakota, Tennessee and Missouri.
It can be possessed but not used in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Maine.
Salvia is legal in all other states.
Carruthers, who videotaped the experience, said he was profusely sweating, laughed a lot and thought he was Velcroed to an orange cube surrounded by faceless people.
he thought the risks of using salvia were too high. He compared salvia with hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Carruthers said that he used salvia multiple times and that the last time was his worst experience. He said he was at his brother's apartment when they smoked their newly purchased salvia out of a tall bong.
"I've done mushrooms, and salvia is an infinite amount of times stronger." Carruthers said. "If someone were to do this while driving a car, it would be a miracle to not crash the car."
"It was a very chill environment," Carruthers said of the night he and his brother smoked. He said when he inhaled the salvia leaves he got
"Judging by the video, I felt very agitated," he said.
Carruthers said.
H e said he remembered screaming, 'I'm going outside,' to the people inside the apartment with him.
"I felt like I wasn't in reality."
Possessing salvia is illegal in Delaware, North Dakota, Tennessee and neighboring Missouri. In Oklahoma and Louisiana, possession of salvia is legal, but using it is not. Maine has similar restrictions, allowing possession of the plant by people older than 18 years of age.
Laurente, creator of SalviaSource.
org, favors Maine's approach.
"A ban for minors makes sense because they are the most likely to abuse it," he said.
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Laurenzi said that there wasn't enough evidence of its harmful effects for the federal government to ban salvia completely and that some politicians tried to ban salvia without having proper knowledge of it. Laurenzi cited U.S. Rep. Paul Ray, R-Utah, as an example. In 2006, Ray proposed a bill to Congress that outlawed salvia just days after a television news report about the herb aired in Utah. Similarly in 2002, U.S. Rep. Joe Baca, R-Calif., proposed a bill to Congress that called for salvia to be considered a controlled substance, which would make salvia illegal.
Kansas has yet to consider a ban on salvia. The legal herb can be bought in Lawrence at Persephone's Journey, 1103 Massachusetts St., a quaint, self-proclaimed emporium for unusual herbs and religious materials. The store sells a variety of incense, candles and herbs, including salvia for $12 per gram.
John Sloan, Persephone's Journey owner, said salvia's negative effects were exaggerated and no different from the side effects of drinking alcohol.
"They all just sensationalize it for publicity," Sloan said. He said the media began talking about salvia after ABC aired a news report about it.
The ABC report, "Salvia: Harmless Plant or Hazardous Drug?" aired after a 17-year-old Delaware student committed suicide by zipping himself inside a tent and lighting it on fire in 2006. The student had been using salvia for several months leading up to his suicide.
Laurenzi said he thought the student's parents blamed salvia for their son's suicide.
"At some level, it's conceivable because your child's suicide would be such an insane thing to deal with, but I think it was irresponsible to blame salvia with no physical evidence to back it up." Laurenzi said.
Yet the story still raised the question whether salvia should be legal for recreational use. Nick Raya, Hutchinson sophomore, said he started smoking salvia almost two years ago. He now smokes it "every now and then."
Raya said that he usually forgot what happened during his trips and that he had to be told what he did.
"It's the craziest thing I've ever done; most of my trips are very strong hallucinations," Raya said. "In the hallucinations, I see the walls moving and think people are talking to me."
Sgt. Troy Squire, director of the Lawrence Police Drug Enforcement Unit, said police were aware of salvia's use here but said they could do nothing about it.
Prisizano, the chemistry professor, said he thought salvia should be regulated, but that people would use it regardless of its status.
"People are ultimately going to do whatever they want to do," Prisinzano said.
Edited by Rachel Bock
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