If Salvia Isnât Toxic or Addictive, Whatâs the Argument for Banning it?
The New York Times has a fascinating piece on the growing hysteria surrounding salvia. Researchers are studying its medical potential, college kids are tripping on YouTube, and state legislators are trying to outlaw it entirely.
All of this may soon provoke an illustrative glimpse at the philosophical dimensions of drug prohibition, in that salvia is powerfully psychoactive, yet shows no signs of addictiveness or toxicity. It isnât causing crime or medical emergencies. The short duration of its effects allows users to indulge without becoming incapacitated to the point of impacting their daily lives. In short, salvia simply doesnât fit into the pre-existing categories that drug warriors have carved out in order to justify prohibitions against other popular recreational drugs. So what will they say about it?
Is that a trick question? I give up, Bertha. How? This is the same woman who opposed distributing overdose prevention kits, based on the theory that overdoses might be good for people. So I'm sure sheâll eventually find a solution here that wonât require copious doses of scientific methodology. Rarely in the history of the war on drugs have facts or common sense ever gotten in the way of someone trying to outlaw something. Tell Joe Biden it makes you think youâre a unicorn and heâll have the Saving American Lives from Volatile Intoxicants Act on your desk by nightfall.
But if salvia is ultimately banned at the federal level simply because it makes you insanely high for 5 minutes, one might interpret that as a long-awaited acknowledgement that the war on drugs really is just an attempt to control our minds.
All of this may soon provoke an illustrative glimpse at the philosophical dimensions of drug prohibition, in that salvia is powerfully psychoactive, yet shows no signs of addictiveness or toxicity. It isnât causing crime or medical emergencies. The short duration of its effects allows users to indulge without becoming incapacitated to the point of impacting their daily lives. In short, salvia simply doesnât fit into the pre-existing categories that drug warriors have carved out in order to justify prohibitions against other popular recreational drugs. So what will they say about it?
Though states are moving quickly, Bertha K. Madras, a deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said federal regulators remained in a quandary.
"The risk of any drug that is intoxicating is high," Dr. Madras said. "You're one car ride away from an event that could be life-altering. But in terms of really good studies, there is just very little. So what do you do? How do you make policy in the absence of good hard cold information?"
Is that a trick question? I give up, Bertha. How? This is the same woman who opposed distributing overdose prevention kits, based on the theory that overdoses might be good for people. So I'm sure sheâll eventually find a solution here that wonât require copious doses of scientific methodology. Rarely in the history of the war on drugs have facts or common sense ever gotten in the way of someone trying to outlaw something. Tell Joe Biden it makes you think youâre a unicorn and heâll have the Saving American Lives from Volatile Intoxicants Act on your desk by nightfall.
But if salvia is ultimately banned at the federal level simply because it makes you insanely high for 5 minutes, one might interpret that as a long-awaited acknowledgement that the war on drugs really is just an attempt to control our minds.
How to Use Drugs Without Ruining Our Lives
Cato Unbound has a wonderful piece, Towards a Culture of Responsible Psychoactive Drug Use, by Earth and Fire Erowid, the founders of Erowid.org. The article provides a rational discussion of why people use psychoactive substances and what can be done to minimize the harms and maximize the benefits of such use. Over the next week, Cato will post responses from Jonathan Caulkins, Jacob Sullum, and Mark Kleiman.
I read the piece last night in its entirety and donât recall finding a single word I disagree with. What struck me is how far removed modern drug education is from even discussing these commonsense principles. Do this information sound dangerous to you?
Fundamentals of Responsible Psychoactive Use
* Investigate the health risks and dangers of the specific psychoactive and of the class of drugs to which it belongs.
* Learn about interactions with other recreational drugs, medications, supplements, and activities.
* Review individual health concerns, predispositions, and family health history.
* Choose a source or product carefully to help ensure correct identification and purity
(avoid materials with an unknown source or of unknown quality).
* Know whether the drug is likely to reduce the ability to drive, operate equipment, or pay attention to necessary tasks.
* Take oneself "off duty" from responsibilities that might be interfered with (job, child care, etc.), and arrange for someone else to be âon dutyâ for such responsibilities.
* Anticipate reasonably foreseeable risks to oneself and others and employ safeguards to minimize those risks.
* Choose an appropriate occasion and location for use.
* Select and measure dosages carefully.
* Begin with a low dose until individual reactions are known and thereafter use the minimum dose necessary to achieve the desired effects: lower doses are safer doses.
* Reflect on and adjust use to minimize physical and mental health problems.
* Note changes in health over time that may be related to use.
* Modify use if it interferes with work or personal goals.
* Check in with peers and family and accept feedback about oneâs use.
* Track reactions to specific drugs and dosages in order to avoid repeating mistakes.
* Seek treatment if needed.
* Decide not to use when the time isnât right, the material is suspect, or the situation is otherwise problematic.
Anyone who has a problem with any of this should contemplate the consequences of allowing young people to learn these lessons the hard way. The fact that these ideas might be considered controversial should serve to remind us how badly our society has demolished its own ability to discuss drug use with people who use drugs.
National African American Drug Policy Coalition Conference
This is a major conference being held at Howard University.
Release's Drugs, Race & Discrimination Conference
Releaseâs annual conference this year takes the important step of focusing the industry on the complex and damaging practice of routine prejudice in health services.