""I was sitting on the edge of the couch, and all of a sudden I got this sensation of pressure. It felt like someone was taking their fingers and squeezing my temple on one side and my neck on the other. It made my body spin 360 degrees onto the floor. It felt like I was being pushed. After this, I looked into the center of the room, and there was a four foot rip in the middle of the room, glowing with white light. It was like a rip in the time-space continuum. When I looked at the ceiling, it was covered with hard angles in the shape of a Christmas tree. It blew my mind.""
Former UW-Madison student Pat Mielke may sound like he went completely crazy, but consider this: His experience was from an entirely legal high that can be purchased right in downtown Madison.
Salvia divinorum, commonly referred to simply as salvia, is a psychoactive plant from the mint family closely related to household sage used in cooking, which has led to its name as Diviner's Sage by those who use it. As described by students who have tried the drug, it can cause hallucinations, intense laughter and periods of deep introspection.
""After you're all messed up, you go into a different world. I laughed uncontrollably and it was the most intense psychedelic thing you could ever imagine,"" UW-Madison senior Ian Haygood said.
Daniel J. Siebert, who has lobbied extensively for the drug on Capitol Hill, claims in his online biography he is a ""pharmacognosist, ethno-botanist, educator and author."" Siebert was also the first person to identify the psychoactive compounds in salvia. Regardless of his credentials, he clearly likes salvia—a lot.
In his online user guide, he claims, ""Salvia is not ‘fun' in the way that alcohol or [marijuana] can be. If you try to party with salvia, you probably will not have a good experience.""
Haygood would not recommend smoking salvia then heading directly to the bars. ""I couldn't move when I was on it because I was so deeply inside my mind,"" he said. ""I was laughing so hard that I started drooling, and then I felt like shit afterwards.""
So, if the drug is not ""fun,"" why do people do it? When asked this question, the owner and operator of Amsterdam at 447 W. Gilman St.—one of the few shops in Madison where salvia can be purchased—responded, ""People want to get high, and they think that's their ticket.""
Aside from feeling a little out of it for a couple of hours, most students who have tried it say there are no other ill effects. A 2003 report from the University of Nebraska concluded after studying its effects on lab rats, no damage to organs or internal processes could be found. However, research on the drug is generally rare.
When asked about the most effective method for consumption, many say the best way is to smoke salvia out of a bong. At Amsterdam, salvia comes in three different strengths, ominously labeled 10x, 15x and 20x. Although the owner recommends starting with the lowest strength, it is a natural substance and affects each user differently depending on individual body chemistry. The smallest dosage, 10x, costs $24.99, and the price increases with potency.
Many users describe salvia as being an incredibly potent and powerful drug. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration website, salvia is not currently listed as a scheduled drug in the Controlled Substances Act, but officials are aware younger adults and adolescents are smoking salvia to ""induce hallucinations."" Essentially, the DEA is well aware of salvia, but seems—for the moment, anyway—to be more concerned with other drugs.
So far, 12 states in the United States have either outlawed the use of the drug or have pending legislation that will eventually criminalize it, and U.S. senators have introduced legislation in the past attempting to label salvia as a controlled substance. All previous attempts to do so have failed, but if current attempts at criminalization are any indicator, it may only be a matter of time before the drug becomes illegal, either in Wisconsin or on a national level.
On Feb. 14, a Milwaukee FOX news affiliate ran a special on salvia, and now there are rumors that state Rep. Sheldon Wasserman, D-Milwaukee—who had previously never heard of the drug—wants to bring up legislation to criminalize it.
The legality of salvia leads to many interesting questions about drug laws in the United States. It is illegal to smoke marijuana or consume alcohol under the age of 21, but taking a hit of something even stronger may not be considered a wrongdoing. For this reason, many people view the country's drug laws as completely arbitrary.
The owner of Amsterdam thinks the issue of drug legality is a simple reflection of the interests of the engrained powers in the United States.
""It's all business and pharmaceuticals. None of it has anything to do with the drugs. It has to do with who's in power, and what they want to be legal,"" she said.
It is important to note no single person's experience is exactly the same, and Internet sites even allow users to log on and share their varied experiences. One user described seeing ""a series of strange, zipper-like patterns across the room, running parallel with the floor."" Another person remembered nothing from his trip but ""a deep-seated, almost instinctual fear of darkness.""
Though many who have tried salvia recommend it to others, legal risks outside of Wisconsin should be considered. ""I guess I'd recommend it for a try. It was a weird feeling,"" said Ryan Cuene, a sophomore at MATC. ""But I wouldn't drive with it or take it across the border.""
Legality aside, salvia is a drug, and should not be taken lightly. However, its legality raises questions about the U.S. drug enforcement. Most people assume that drugs that are particularly potent are illegal because of the danger they pose to society, yet salvia remains legal in most states. These blurry lines may be cause for confusion.
""It doesn't seem to make sense,"" UW-Madison senior Eve Nommensen said. ""If salvia is legal, maybe other drugs should be legal, too,"" Nommensen said, pausing to think. ""Or maybe they should all just be illegal.""
