EcoTalk

The tragic death by suicide of one teen Delaware, and his parents’ subsequent outcry and campaigning, has seen Salvia banned in a number of US states.

Salvia is a herb with relatively tame hallucinogenic properties. It is part of the sage family and is a close relative of the mint plant. Many gardens in the US have some form of Salvia plant growing in them.

Drug agents say smoking or chewing salvia produces hallucinations and can cause a person to become dizzy and impair judgment.

Salvia is legal under US federal drug law and is likely to remain so for some time. It remains legal in all but 11 US states and in almost all countries worldwide. Whilst one can sympathies with the parents of the Delaware teen, it is a fact that there is no medical basis that could be used to justify a call to see Salvia banned.

Kansas and Oklahoma are the latest states to have Salvia banned. The laws passed recently mean that it is illegal to use, possess or sell the plant in either its natural or concentrated forms.

Despite these recent attempts to have Salvia banned, it is widely available over the Internet at sites specializing in the plant.