A week ago it made the radio station here on KNX 1070 AM. Typical biased and uninformed reporting from what I heard, and of course some interviews with smokeshop sellers. This time there was a major difference! The station was saying that the proposed law was not to outlaw salvia divinorum, but to make the sale legal only for those eighteen years old or older. I don't remember if they said anything about possession by those younger than that or not. This seems like a way better development than what was going on not so long ago with the prospect of complete criminalization and long prison sentences for everyone like some states have done. This "No Sales to Minors" approach is what Maine did awhile back. I think things should just be left as they are, but with the whole hype about "The Children" this approach might be workable.

The effect of smoked salvia divinorum extract is amazing in its ability to make you NOT want to repeat it. No wonder I've read of it as an anti-addictive drug. It has been my observation that most people don't try it a third time.

First time........... Wow! What just happened?
Second time...... Oh, that's what happned.
Third time.......... Nah, let's do something else. Or I'll think about it.

For myself, I have done it lots more times (Persistent fellow that I am trying to understand something so harmless and yet so amazing, or maybe I'm a glutton for abuse?), but I usually have a plan for its use as I know what to expect and also as an aid for contemplating things in my life after the initial wave passes while having a quiet place to think. I think I have actually discovered how to meditate without knowing that I have indeed been meditating! Hmm, meditation and quiet, does that sound like a party sensation to anyone reading this? Self examination and contemplation? Yeah, let's party! I have only twice tried it in another person's presence. Once to film myself and report on it and the other time in an intimate setting to see what would happen. My use now is infrequent and down to once or twice a month or less. All this in the span of since last July in 2007 to April 2008. Certainly that's not addictive even when I remember of my initial enthusiasm for how it made me think and feel. When I hear or read these sensational reports about it, what it does, and the threat it poses, especially to our youth, I can only wonder who's political agenda is being pushed, because it is mostly bullshit, half truths, and outright lies, when I compare what is reported to my own personal experimenting and experience.

As with most such reporting, I haven't heard a word about it since last week. Where do they find these people that say it is like LSD? Why don't they just try some for themselves and see if what they've been told is true or not? These reporters ought to at least talk with an experienced user or two and interview them while observing them use it. And read what scientists, doctors, and people with experience with it have published, pro and con. Is it too much to ask nowadays for a little investigative reporting, or must we all have sensationalism and television ratings pushed everywhere into our lives? Come to think of it, why not do this for LSD? Then they could compare the two experiences side by side.