Pubdate: Fri, 14 Mar 2008 Source: Lindsay Daily Post (CN ON) Copyright: 2008 Lindsay Daily Post Contact: http://www.thepost.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2333 Author: David Flaherty Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hallucinogens.htm (Hallucinogens) COUNCILLOR URGES REGULATION OF HALLUCINOGENIC HERB You can smoke it like marijuana. It produces hallucinogenic effects like LSD. It's also likely available in a corner store near you. Salvia divinorum, also known as diviner's sage, maria pastora or Sage of the Seers, is a herb which is a member of the sage genus and mint family. It is being called the "new pot" in some circles and this has City of Kawartha Lakes Ward 12 Coun. Gord James concerned. Last year, James recommended a resolution received from the city of Port Colbourne about a petition to the Minister of Health to call Health Canada to undertake a review of salvia be received and referred to both the City of Kawartha Lakes Police Services Board and local OPP for comment. "It wasn't necessarily a problem before," he told The Lindsay Post. "It will be a problem...it is being abused, if we could regulate this it would be good for all communities." Salvia can be smoked, chewed or using as a tincture, with effects differing depending on the individual. Effects seem to last for a shorter amount of time than other drugs, sometimes only between one and five minutes. Results seems to be more intense and last longer when the herb is chewed or using a tincture. Effects from salvia may include uncontrollable laughter, past memories, such as revisiting places from childhood memory, sensations of motion, or being pulling and twisted by forces, visions of membranes, films or various two-dimensional services, merging with or becoming objects as well as overlapping realities, such as the perception of being in several locations at once. Whatever the effects are, James believes salvia is dangerous. "It's a hallucinogenic herb," he said . The councillor acknowledged that salvia is readily available in local stores and said owners should be careful about the product. "If I was a store owner, I would take it off the shelves to be a good member of the community," said James. Salvia divinorum is legal in most areas however, many states in the United States having passed their own laws regulating it while others have proposed legislation. So far, despite calls for it's criminalization, Health Canada has said it doesn't have enough evidence to place salvia under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom