newgrowerNY

Bill Proposes Ban On Plant
01.22.07|wmtw.com

A bill before the Legislature is targeting a plant lawmakers said people are abusing in order to get high.

Salvia divinorum, or Salvia, is related to basil and is indigenous to a mountainous region of Mexico, where it is used to induce hallucinations. Some who have used Salvia liken the "high" to a religious experience.

Currently, Salvia is legal in Maine. But lawmakers are hoping to ban the possession, sale or use of the plant.

At a public hearing on Monday in Augusta, those for and against the bill spoke out.

Kimberly Johnson, who supports the ban, said, "The bill basically puts Salvia divinorum in the same class as marijuana, legally, so all the penalties for selling it and using it would be as the same for marijuana."

Meanwhile, bill opponent Christopher Ruhlin said, "It is very clear to us, by the lack of incidences surrounding this substance, that many of the projected fears are ill-conceived."

Five other states currently ban the sale of Salvia divinorum.

newgrowerNY

Hmm Lets ban all plants .. Then we could get large chemical companies to manufacture all our food too ..

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Disclaimer: I love to grow

Buzzby

Salvia isn't used as a recreational drug because it isn't any fun. I bought a quarter-pound once, tried it twice, and the rest went into the compost heap. I was expecting something much more interesting.

I'm sure glad the legislature wants to save us from a non-threat.

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Tokamak

Well Buzz, I agree with your argument that salvia is neither fun nor recreational. But the tone of your reply leads me to believe you didn't get a legitimate salvia experience. And rightly so, if you had only unenhanced leaf. I smoked the hell out of the first pouch of salvia leaves I bought, and didn't feel a damn thing. A few months later, a friend introduced me to some 13x-extract-enhanced leaf. I took a massive toke and was ripped from this plane of existence for what seemed like an eternity, though in reality it was only seconds. Salvia is a VERY POWERFUL hallucinogen, producing an experience anecdotally similar to smoked DMT. It is a substance to be revered and respected. I have done it approximately once a year, soley for spiritual purposes, and every time, no matter how prepared I am, I am left in fear and awe of salvia's power.

But I reiterate: with salvia, either it takes you or it doesn't; there's no sliding scale of effects. If you've smoked it and not experienced anything noteworthy, you need to try a more potent extraction. And please, as with all hallucinogens, have an experienced trip sitter. For more info, see Erowid Salvia Divinorum (Ska Pastora) Vault

Peace.

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bakeness8633

Salvia isn't even a drug that you use lightly, ive smoked the leaves a few times but they don't do anything, if you wanna experience you gotta get the extract but its not something you wanna do alone, you should have someone there with you

Buzzby

I got enough of an experience from smoking the unenhanced leaves to realize that it wasn't something that appealed to me. I enjoy drugs that alter my perception of reality, which includes most of the major psychedelics, not ones put me in a different reality. DMT was interesting - once. I see quite enough of the inside of my own head when I meditate, without all the flashing lights, funny sounds, and Monsters from the Id.

king cola

OMG! THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS! This behavior should not be tolerated anywhere!

In a serious non paranoid response this even happens with legal pharmaceutical drugs, but we don't ban them. Is it such a bad thing to get high? I don't hear them mention anything about alcohol abuse. Some people use it to relax while others abuse it to get drunk and this is acceptable. Maybe instead of using the word drunk and used the word high, this would automatically change how the public thinks of alcohol users?

Someone can talk about getting drunk, but if they say the word high, people go into a panic and start complaining. Some legal drugs are made from the opium plant. If a person chooses to get high, that's their decision.

Everything has to be political, that's what the real problem is. There is always something new to argue about to bring in more votes for people. As your politician i will see to it that this plant will be banned! I will protect your children! It's the samething over and over again only with other things wheather it be drugs, what is shown on tv, fireworks, lolli pops that taste like marijuana, the list goes on.