More than 40 years after Timothy Leary urged teens of the 1960s to "turn on, tune in, and drop out," some of today's youth are tuning in to YouTube and other online video sites in order to learn more about a new way of turning on.

As John Simerman reported in the May 16 edition of the Contra Costa Times, online videos are promoting the hallucinogenic properties of an often-overlooked (and barely regulated) substance called "salvia."

Salvia divinorum, which East Bay smoke shops sell in packets of dark, crushed-leaf extract -- with a "strictly for incense use only" disclaimer -- has spurred new laws in more than a dozen states in recent years amid a slew of online videos showing youths speaking or acting bizarrely after smoking it; and the well-publicized suicide of a Delaware teen in 2006, with the coroner listing salvia as a contributing cause.

In many of the videos, the smokers often start laughing uncontrollably, then are rendered incoherent by a forceful high that users describe as much shorter than LSD, but often more intense.

Though the U.S. government currently has no laws regulating the manufacture, sale, or use of salvia, Simerman reported at least 10 states have listed Salvia as a Schedule I drug, which places it in the same category of Ecstasy and LSD.

Parents whose teens are abusing salvia or any other illicit substance may want to consider a wilderness program for troubled teens such as central Oregon's SageWalk, which offers structure, supervision, and a comprehensive array of therapeutic services.

Labels: teen_drug_use, internet, hallucinogens

Posted By: Aspen/CRC