New Drug

I'm always amazed at how little I know about drugs today but I can't blame myself. Our generation just isn't familiar with today's new-fangled drugs.  Why in my day, kids had to make do with marijuana.  There was none of this ecstacy around.  But I know I shouldn't be joking about such a serious topic especially one that freaks all of us out.

I attended a talk by teens about drugs in the middle school last week. It turns out the main drugs in middle school at least here in the suburbs are marijuana and alcohol but that's scary enough as far as I'm concerned.   They were a pretty wholesome group but they also seemed pretty knowledgeable and they mentioned a new drug they've seen called salvia. 

Here's what I learned about salvia: It turns out Salvia is from a plant in Mexico and South and Central America.  It seems that it's mostly smoked like a marijuana joint or smoke in a water pipe or vaporized and inhaled, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse www.drugabuse.gov/infofacts/salvia.html.  It produces hallucinations that last 1 minute to 30 minutes. It's not so much a party drug as something kids experiment with individually. And it's not controlled by the federal government although the Drug Enforcement Agency has classified it as a drug of concern and is considering classifying it as a Schedule I drug like LSD and marijuana.