Up until a few years ago, not many people knew about Salvia Divinorum, a mildly hallucinogenic herb that some websites and head shops have sold as a “legal high.” But after overblown reports of the “the next marijuana” by news agencies, politicians across the country jumped on the opportunity to criminalize yet another drug. Even without any statistics on Salvia’s prevalence, our own Florida Legislature banned the herb this past July, making possession a felony. But, as we found out before the ban took effect, salvia provides little more than an expensive headache.
This article appears in Sep 10-16, 2008.