Why would anyone care about this? Well, for years many Australians have been benefiting, in many ways, by using this Divine herb. They have brought themselves out of depression, removed harmful addictions from their lives, have improved their personalities towards others, they have become more focused in their daily duties, they have found relief from "women's problems", they enjoy life better than they had previously.

Why would a government ban only one variety of a common herb then if it has brought so many benefits to people? The above paragraph has been deliberately written to highlight the positive nature of Salvia Divinorum. It has left one key element about the herb out. That one key element is that Salvia Divinorum is the only known source of Salvinorin.A, a powerful hallucinogen. The idea of hallucinogens being easily available to the population caused panic to those who need to be seen as doing the right thing, but do not know the true background of what they campaign about (The War on Drugs). They did not look at the possibility of there being any benefits from using Salvia Divinorum. They saw it only as a "new" drug that posed potential problems. Their argument was something like this, "Salvia Divinorum is a dangerous hallucinogen" and that's about it.

There was no public debate no public notice that it was about to be banned in order to promote discussion, the whole thing was performed almost in secret and slipped into Australian Law before anybody noticed.

The fact is that although Salvia Divinorum is a very powerful hallucinogen it is not a party drug as one would associate with an hallucinogen like LSD. The hallucination lasts around 3 to five minutes when smoked and around twenty minutes when chewed or held in the mouth as a liquid. It is crucial for the setting to be just right also. One could consume three or four pipefuls of Salvia Divinorum and hardly feel any effect at all if the setting is incorrect (loud noise, bright light, movement and other distractions) yet at another time could consume only one pipe from the same source and experience a three to five minute "journey" in the correct setting (dimly lit or dark room, quiet with no distractions). And from those who have managed to hallucinate, by using the herb, many have never tried it a second time, as the experience can be quite overwhelming.

World wide, there has been no know medical problems associated with Salvia Divinorum except for those it has helped relieve or cure. There have been no known overdoses (there is no known overdose level). There are no known lasting negative side effects, the after effects wear off in around an hour but the positive side effects can last for days even weeks.

Salvia Divinorum is Legal in all other countries of the world except for Australia and Denmark. It was illegal in Oregon for a little while but they withdrew it's ban after further consideration of a recommendation by the CCLE. It is important that Australia (and Denmark) reconsider their view of Salvia Divinorum as the benefits are yet to be properly studied and the dangers of it being abused are extremely low.

- Shayman
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