This KSL.com story about Salvia divinorum appeared recently.
//http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=679822
It has links to video broadcast.
It's just another example of the sensationalism and generation of moral panic we've come to expect.
There's also a comment board
//http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=679822&comments=true
QuoteToday kids refer to it "Sally D" and they use it to escape.
It's a good thing they jumped to that conclusion about why people use salvia. I'd hate to think that anyone was being misrepresented. :roll:
Pretty typical news story, but especially unsurprising coming from the Mormon stronghold.
I had a nice, long reply to add, but of course you have to open an account to do so. I hate that.
KSL.com have followed up their initial story with this - http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=682728 (http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=682728) - which has links to further video broadcast.
"Moments after our story ended, Utah Representative Paul Ray began writing a bill to ban Salvia. We were there on Capitol Hill to see the paperwork filed." Rep. Paul Ray, (R) Clearfield, says "We're basically going to make it illegal to possess or sell. Period."
Further comments by KSL viewers are at http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&si ... rue#postit (http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=682728&comments=true#postit)
I signed up, logged in and posted the following...
KSL proudly announce, "Moments after our story ended, Utah Representative Paul Ray began writing a bill to ban Salvia. We were there on Capitol Hill to see the paperwork filed." Rep. Paul Ray, (R) Clearfield, says "We're basically going to make it illegal to possess or sell. Period." Quite what real evidence there is to justify such a moral panic remains unclear. The police haven't encountered it as a problem from the sounds of it, nor accident and emergency rooms either - despite Salvia being widely available in the US for the last 10 or 15 years. I'd like to see some more research please. Mazatec culture has been using it for perhaps centuries in an apparently constructive and spiritual way for healing and divination. The effects of Salvia sound quite intense, but short-lived (only a few minutes - I don't know why some people are comparing it to LSD). Salvia does not seem to be toxic, or addictive. Let's not waste police time and taxpayer's money with hasty legislation drawn up by some knee-jerk politician who is simply pandering to a media scare story and wanting to grab easy votes by looking tough in the "war on drugs". How about a more balanced and considered assessment of the dangers of Salvia divinorum compared to, say, alcohol perhaps?
I live in the UK - I had to make up a ZIP code for the login details (I put 33701). - It's quite easy to make something up if you don't want to include your real details. - I don't think the email address they ask for is validated - so would encourage all to go ahead and post if you want to make your voice heard.
I've posted a couple more comments to KSL.com. Note with regard to the follow up story (//http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=682728), Paul Ray (the Rep. who is proposing the knee-jerk anti-Salvia legislation) has signed in with a reply, apparently amazed at the considerable number who disagree with him. He wrote...
"It's nice to know there are so many experts on Salvia. You guys really amaze me. You resort to name calling because you don't like my stance on an issue. I did thorough research on Salvia before I filed the bill. It will not ban the type of Salvia you plant in your garden. Most of you sound like you want to legalize drugs. That's your opinion, I'm not going to call you names. What I am doing is not to protect the morons that use drugs, it is to protect the public from morons that use drugs."
In reply, I wrote...
"it looks like you want to have your cake and eat it. As already highlighted, in one sentence you're self-congratulating about being above name-calling, in the next, you're lashing out with insults. I suspect you're just as much hypocrite on the subject of 'drugs'. But I'd like to be persuaded otherwise. So, do let us know how you treat alcohol differently."
Against the initial article (//http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=679822) I posted a comment directed at the so called investigative journalist fronting the story...
"Did it ever cross Debbie Dujanovic's mind to actually try it for herself? A firsthand report reflecting on the actual experience of Salvia would've been much more compelling than the lazy assumptions and sensationalist scaremongering we were otherwise offered. We have journalists on the frontline in all sorts of situations around the world â€" some of them risking their lives to get to the heart of the matter. So, faced with something, yes - potentially intense, but relatively short-acting, and by all accounts not physiologically toxic or addictive, what was the excuse for chickening out here? Doesn't the best reporting sometimes venture where others might fear to tread?"
There are quite a few other comments now accumulating on KSL's pages for these stories. Given that it's a very conservative news channel in a very conservative State it's encouraging to see how many are questioning and critical of the 'official' line.
KSL have now published an editorial at http://www.ksl.com/?nid=238&sid=687501 (http://www.ksl.com/?nid=238&sid=687501) in which they conclude...
"In KSL's view, the legislature should take action to control the sale of Salvia Divinorum before the illicit use of the accessible hallucinogen spreads. That wasn't done in a timely way with Meth, and now we have a devastating epidemic. Preemptive action now with "Sally D" would likely spare countless families the horror of losing a loved one to the relentless tentacles of drug abuse."
This would make me despair if it wasn't for the great feedback posted on the community comment board (same page as link above). At the time of writing nobody has yet posted an opinion agreeing with KSL's position. Maybe people aren't as generally as gullible as politicians and the media would wish. I think we should take some encouragement from the majority of responses so far.
Quote from: "SallyScot""Preemptive action now with "Sally D" would likely spare countless families the horror of losing a loved one to the relentless tentacles of drug abuse."
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Thanx Sally Scot .
Spent some time on the comments board, most interesting. Cross section of the ?????? kinda hard to tell actually! some clueless folks, some fairminded people, some entheogen explorers as well.
Members of the public may add their comments, so anyone who feels strongly about this issue should speak up.
Veracohr: tooo funny! Nice work... 8)
(//http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3043/hahashowif0.jpg) (//http://imageshack.us)