Just recently, the legal drug Salvia has caught the attention of the media. Salvia is a bright green plant, similar to marijuana, that comes from Mexico and is sold legally in California. The drug is a hallucinogenic and its effects can last any where from 15 minutes to a couple of hours.

Salvia is sold in almost every smoke shop in the Bay Area and is available to anyone 18 or older. However, it is very easy for minors to get a hold of and has been getting very popular among the younger crowd. The risks of salvia have not been confirmed. However studies have not shown that salvia is completely harmless either, in fact there is a major concern about how addictive the drug is and some of the possible health risks. Chemical dependency is most definitely a risk.

I have personally tried the drug and experienced effects similar to the LSD or mushroom experience. When I first tried the drug, I was at school and on my lunch break. I had never heard of the drug before, but I instantly felt compelled to use it when my best friend told me it was legal and the high would only last a few minutes. I read the box, in which the drug came in and was reassured that the drug was completely harmless. When I smoked the salvia I didn’t feel its effects at first but I noticed feeling light headed. After our lunch break and towards the beginning of my next class after break, I remember spacing out, and staring at my legs when they abruptly turned into vicious snakes trying to make their way to my face.

What was most appealing to me besides the fact that the drug was legal, was that it came in a cardboard box with instructions on the back for how to use it. The fact that it had directions on the back for how to use it meant to me that the drug was harmless and obviously approved by the State. My experience with the drug was decent, besides the fact that I happened to have a panic attack towards the end of the high – with the leg-snakes and all. I experienced hallucinations after five minutes of smoking the salvia and just like the box had said and my high came to an end after fifteen minutes. I did not feel any side effects indicating I had used the drug afterwards and unlike most drugs, it wasn’t like I got less and less high as time went on, my high ended after five minutes or so of tripping out on the drug.

There is a video at youtube.com that shows a young man vividly hallucinating after smoking salvia. He is just laughing uncontrollably during his trip. Although his trip differs from the one I experienced, it gives you an idea for how the drug works and what the effects of the drug looks like. Remember to consider the fact that the drug effects people differently and although the drug seems to not have been that bad for the young man experimenting with it, it is not guaranteed that the drug will work like that with another user.

I personally don’t think that the drug should be legal just because of the fact that studies have not shown the drug to be completely harmless yet. Also, I feel that the drug is a little too easy for minors to get a hold of. I’m not sure if the drug is addictive, but I feel that there is a good chance of its users becoming chemically dependant on the drug. In my opinion they need to make a commitment to making some serious studies to make sure that the drug is harmless and doesn’t cause any health problems, before they decide to legalize salvia and allow it to be sold at almost every smoke shop in the Bay Area.
—Maya Cameron