In defense of Salvia divinorum

I did my interview today and am pretty pleased with how it went. At first it seemed the interviewer's primary interest was my perspective as the proprietor of Gaian Botanicals. I tried not to focus too much on that and steered the focus more on the plant and the issues around it.

I asked the journalist if he had tried Salvia divinorum? Unfortunately he replied with a no. I recommended that any professional investigator preparing a national story on an ineffable experience should at least invest 15 minutes and try the herb already. It's like someone reporting on a religion and the person being interviewed said, "Do you want to meet god?" And the interviewer says, "No." Why wouldn't you? It’s safe and legal. I don't believe anyone could possibly comprehend the Salvia experience without direct experience with it. Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. That’s his personal and private choice, but I hope he does.

He had all the scientific literature so there was really no point in repeating what he already knew.

I made it clear the Salvia divinorum is NOT like any other psychedelic.

This includes Marijuana, LSD, Magic Mushrooms or any other of the known psychedelics. This analogy is all too commonly used by the media and is more inaccurate then claiming all food tastes the same and has the same nutritional properties or that all medicine is the same. These analogies are absurd.

I continued with the question, why make Salvia divinorum illegal? It is likely that globally at least a million of people have tried it in some form. No one has died, became ill, addicted, mentally deranged or suffered any other from of disability due to Salvia. This is even with production of extracts and cultivation being somewhat underground. Not regulated like what's offered at your corner store and still no ill effects with Salvia; the stuff sold by pharmacy is probably more toxic.

The government technically does not have the authority to declare something Schedule 1 unless it’s a hazard to public safety, is proven to be addictive, and has NO medical use. Salvia divinorum is not a threat, it is not addictive and has demonstrated significant potential medical use in the treatment of depression and addiction, among other possibilities. The medical field will not be able to adequately determine what the best use for this plant is until they have had an opportunity to do a thorough investigation.

This plant is unique. Salvinorin A is a diterpenoid which acts as a kappa opioid receptor agonist. This is important because it is the first known compound with such action that is not an alkaloid. Most of the known hallucinogens are tryptamines and phenethylamines which act on the serotonergic system, and all are alkaloids. This means that Salvia represents a unique pharmacological interaction previously unknown to science, making it extremely valuable to all humanity.

Most legislators argue Salvia is similar to illegal substances so it too should be illegal. The Federal government already has a law that makes any substance similar to illegal substances also illegal -- it’s called the Analog Act -- but Salvia is not similar in shape or function to any other known drug. This proves, as previously mentioned, that Salvia is special.

Keep in mind when drugs are made illegal, they are not only restricted for use by ordinary people, they are also restricted from scientific study. Recently a few scientific studies have been allowed for DMT, Psilocybin and MDMA, but it took years of public lobbying and private financing to make these meager studies a reality. But because of these studies the powers that be have been forced to admit that these substances may have actual medical use(?). Of course, this is something people who have tried them already know.

My friend Fraser Clark once said only two things can change a person in a single instant: Psychoactive drugs, and direct religious experience. The greatest transformation would then come via a synthesis of these two: a religious experience created by psychoactive drugs. This is a very true observation. These are indeed powerful tools.

As of today we have let over thirty years of potential scientific study be wasted and left to the underground. In a field of medicine that can aid victims of war, rape, sexual abuse, assault, and trauma, the government has turned its back and said No. These are medicines that can reduce the anxieties of the terminally ill, and help them come to better terms with their death. These are drugs that can put a dent in drug addiction and alcoholism, and can make families more loving, healthy and happy. What is to fear by rational, regulated use?

Thirty years of scientific and medical progress lost, all due to paranoia?

The issue here is not that Salvia is threat to public safety; the issue is that the establishment fears psychedelics. Free thinking isn’t conducive to controlling a population. They want everyone to fit within the cultural paradigm of being consumer robots who play the game and follow the rules without questioning authority or higher motives. In the '60s and '70s the Government wanted to escalate the war in Vietnam and large parts of the population were using psychedelics and forming opinions in direct contrast to that ideology. The propaganda was no longer effective; turned-on people would no longer tolerate the actions of their government. Therefore the government had to put an end to it all. Of course many mistakes were made by the drug users of that era. It was all too new. We know much more about these things now.

California and Maine have taken very reasonable and wise steps in regulating Salvia: No sales to minors. Everyone in the Salvia divinorum community applauds these measures for their logic and restraint. We hate to see kids acting stupid on YouTube as much as anyone else. I myself wish Salvia were inaccessible to minors, but I also recognize it is an impossible rule to enforce. I am a parent and I don't want my kids experimenting without supervision. My wife and I are very involved with our children's life and take the responsibility to educate them and raise them to make wise decisions. My interest in entheogens is private, I don't talk about or use anything in their presence. If and when they are responsible adults it will be their (hopefully legal) choice to explore this domain. If that is the case I will be glad that I have some wisdom and guidance to offer them; it will be more than most parents have to offer.

When it comes to teens, some will always be determined to get high. If Salvia is what they get their hands on, then that's what it is. It's better than paint, glue, huffing, computer duster inhaling, prescription drug abuse, or even worse ways to get stupidly loaded. Instead of weird old Salvia they could get caught up in dangerous and addictive drugs that damage mind and body and favor criminal lifestyles. That’s not what Salvia is and it's not what Salvia will ever be. Not in the least. This distinction is crucial; Salvia is not that kind of drug.

In many ways the Salvia fight is a about Americans blindly surrendering their rights and not caring about freedom; not even knowing what freedom is. We have become so conditioned to doing what we are told we know no other way. As the late Terence McKenna (may have) said, "If the words '...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...' don't include cognitive liberty, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on." I didn’t have the exact quote with me in my car, but that's close enough, and I like my version better.

The interviewer asked me of the Salvia users I knew, what are they like? I answered based on my circle of friends and people I know from the net. Most who choose to do Salvia do so initially because they are curious about psychedelics but don’t want to be criminals. Its a legal option; many have families and jobs that would be threatened by using illegal drugs. Also, it is easy to fit into your schedule if you only have a half-hour with no kids, work, or other responsibilities. In under fifteen minutes you could have an effective entheogenic experience and cross that off your "bucket list" or whatever. It also brings some magic and amazement to your day, unlike anything else bound to happen to you in an average lifetime. Think of it as an alternate perspective for self reflection, and you don’t need eight hours of free time to kill.

As I said, most users I know are responsible tax paying citizens. They responsibly choose to make this experience part of their life. They find it a useful tool for many reasons. Some people I know try it and never want to try it again; Salvia isn’t a match for everyone. In fact, sixty percent of all humans -- or most people -- will probably hate it. It can be a totally boundary dissolving; a paradigm smashing experience. For some it totally astonishes them, they come back and simply can’t believe it. They run to a mirror to see if they are indeed themselves -- awake and not dreaming -- and if what they witnessed really happened. It blurs the line between dream and reality. It gives one much to think about...

I’ve always valued entheogens for giving me the ability to reflect on my self. They help you reach a clarity, showing you what's most important in your life. Prior to my first being turned on, I felt like a cultural robot executing the societal code I was programmed to follow. This was the "individuality" and "freedom" I thought I had.

Then I went to an underground party in search of intoxicated girls and a little fun. Upon entry someone handed me a Starburst(TM) candy that had LSD dropped on it. I didn’t even know it until a friend said, "You're going to get really high." I thought... how potent could a Starburst(TM) be? I danced all night, the sound and colors where amazing. I had thoughts I never thought before. I discovered my inner voice. I recall walking in a trance and I heard a voice say: Ok walk over here, find your friends. Don’t look at the gay guys making out. Don’t eat, drink or smoke anything. Sober up. Then I thought: Who said that? Voices? OK Symptom A: you're nuts. No... Once I learned I had this voice commanding my being I was able to use it to make some positive changes in my life. I was able to deal with my subconscious and change my mental programming.

But it was not the drugs alone that helped. I was greatly influenced by some really amazing people who I was fortunate enough to encounter during this period. Mainly Timothy Leary and Terence McKenna, along with many others with similar philosophies. In fact as I speak I can hear Terence's squeaky little voice as if I am channeling him or perhaps just straight out plagiarizing. But in either case I don't think he would mind. Without this experience I would have never taken this path I and that would be a tragedy. Denying psychedelic experience to people should be the crime.

In this blog I must make it clear. I do not use or posses any illegal substances. At this phase in my life, Salvia and psychedelic thinking is more than enough to satisfy my entheogenic needs. In fact, I rarely even use Salvia. I like to read, participate on forums and listen to podcasts. By doing so I am able to benefit simply by taking in other peoples reflections on their experiences.

The thing that really bothers me most is the criminalization of plants. Who the hell do we think we are? If you are religious most likely you believe the earth and everything on it was created by a god. If your a atheist, scientist or evolutionist you probably believe there was a big bang, everything came together and 13 billion years of cosmic evolution labored to bring all the life found on earth in to existence. How egotistical can humans be to come along and declare parts of this miraculous creation illegal? That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard. There is a total disrespect of nature. But look at the environment; this shouldn’t be news to anyone.

The rest of the talk was stuff we all know. The effects of Salvia range from mild to profound and last about 15 minutes. A little of the history of Salvia, up to making her way onto the Internet and probably on her path to extinction. But we wont let her go without our best effort to keep her legal. She is an intelligent plant spirit; skilled in evading the Inquisition and all attempts to stamp shamanic plants out. We talked about the community's attempts to keep Salvia legal. Being that this is not a Federal matter. Its tough enough to organize state by state, now we have to watch things down to county and most likely city ordinances. Just knowing the Federal law of the Country is difficult enough, let alone fighting them all. There is no national organization of Salvia users taking political action. Maybe there should be, but are we too late?

Thank you for reading this. Please feel free to share this with others. I would appreciate a link back to my Blog

Peace and Blessings,

EROCx1