Hallucinogenic Herb Salvia Legal In Utah (2024)

You've probably never heard of Salvia, but chances are your kids have.
They know about it, they know where to buy it, and how to use it. And, it's all legal.
In tonight's Eyewitness News Investigation, we expose this dangerous herb.
Salvia divinorum plants look quite ordinary. But their leaves contain a potent drug. Tonight we go undercover to show you how easy it is to buy, the Utah kids who've tried it, and parents who are shocked by the plant's powerful effects.
"You're losing me, ladies and gentlemen. You're losing me."
Jim just smoked Salvia. To show others what it's like, he put his experience on the internet.
"I feel like the octopus ride. Ha, ha, ha. It's awesome, awesome, awesome. Whooh!"
Jim's not the only one. We found a bunch of these online videos.
"Salvia is like, really quick-hitting stuff."
"It's so cool."
"Dude, it's already hitting."
"I am rocking the world right now."
"Like I've stepped outside of my body."
Salvia lets kids get high without getting into legal trouble. It's a perfectly legal substance that's perfectly easy to buy. We sent a producer and undercover camera into four Salt Lake City smoke shops in search of Salvia.
Producer: "I'm wondering if you have Salvia."
Clerk: "Salvia? Yes."
Producer: "Hey, how's it going? I'm looking for Salvia."
Clerk: "Come right back through here. Okay. It's right over here in this corner case."
In just two hours, we'd spent $66 and bought enough Salvia for up to 40 doses.
Salvia is shipped to the U.S. from Mexico, where Indians used it for religious visions, and named it the "diviner's sage." Today kids refer to it "Sally D" and they use it to escape.
"You just feel like you're the god of it all. You are the god. You've got it all going on. You have it going on."
Don't think Utah kids are using it? The very first teens we approached knew all about it.
Debbie Dujanovic/Eyewitness News: "How'd you hear about it?"
18-Year Old: "Through some friends."
Debbie Dujanovic: "Kids at Cottonwood are using it?"
16-Year Old: "Yeah, they know about it. Yeah."
Debbie Dujanovic: "Did you try it?"
18-Year Old: "Yeah."
Debbie: "What did you think?"
18-Year Old: "It was alright."
Both say parents are in the dark about this powerful herb.
"I never even had heard of this."
This mom never heard of Salvia until she found out her daughter had tried it. The hallucinations scare her.
Mom: "You don't have control. You're not making conscious, healthy choices for yourself. You can't be."
What about other parents? We put those online Salvia videos on a DVD and took it to a football game at Hunter High, a school where we know students have used the herb. We ran into parents from Hunter as well as Spanish Fork and Kearns.
Debbie: "The herb is called Salvia. Have you heard of it?"
Dad: "No, never heard of that."
Debbie: "Detectives we've talked to say it gives kids the same high as LSD."
Mom: "Really. I've never even heard of it."
Debbie: "What do you think?"
Mom: "And children here are using this? That can't be right for it to be legal."
Dad: "That should be illegal."
Debbie: "It's also for sale over the internet. You can have it delivered to your door."
Mom: "Oh, that's nice."
Detective: "We've seen it in Riverton. We've seen it in Cottonwood Heights-- the east bench to Kearns."
This undercover narcotics detective's biggest frustration? Not being able to do a thing about it.
Debbie: "If you find Salvia on someone, can you take it away from them?"
Detective: "No."
Debbie: "Because?"
Detective: "Because it is legal in the state of Utah for them to possess Salvia."
Debbie: "Even if they're tripping out on it?"
Detective: "Even if they're tripping out on it."
Scary, when you think about the kinds of things that can happen during one of those trips.
"They can become violent. They can get up and run in the street and not realize what they're doing in the state of hallucinogen they're in."
In fact, the people who sell Salvia know full well how nasty and unpredictable the high can be. They even gave us a warning.
Clerk: "Make sure there's someone who doesn't smoke with you."
Producer: "Yeah, that's what I've been reading about, that you need a sitter."
Clerk: "Yeah, you need a sitter."
In just the past two years, five states have passed laws against Salvia. Four others have proposed legislation that would criminalize the use of Salvia or make the plant a controlled substance.
As for Utah, there's nothing on the books right now. Drug cops we talked to for this story told us they are hoping someone on capitol hill will take action this January.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has added Salvia divinorum to the "Drugs and Chemicals of Concern" list. Click here to read what the agency has to say about this herb.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=309&sid=679822

Comment
Mary Sparrowdancer
11-28-6
Regarding the herb, salvia - and this article -and the headline referring to it as a "dangerous herb" legal in Utah. Actually, it's legal everywhere in the US. The article is filled with exaggerations, lies and half truths sort of in the same manner that the old "Reefer Madness" film was created.

 Hallucinogenic Herb Salvia Legal In Utah (2024)

FAQs

Is it legal to grow salvia in Utah? ›

As already mentioned, most states on the western side of the US have declared Salvia divinorum legal. These include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Washington, Utah, New Mexico, Montana, Oregon, and Wyoming.

Is psychoactive Salvia legal? ›

Believe it or not, Salvia divinorum is federally legal in the United States. The plant is not included in the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, making it legally different from cannabis, shrooms, and other psychoactive plants and fungi.

Is Salvia legal in all 50 states? ›

In the United States, Salvia is not regulated under the Controlled Substances Act but some states, including Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Virginia, Tennessee, Texas, and others, have passed their own laws.

Can smoking salvia get you high? ›

These effects may occur rapidly, within just 5 to 10 minutes of smoking or inhaling the drug. Although these effects, or “the high,” can be short lived, some people may experience a salvia “high” for several hours.

What Salvias are psychoactive? ›

Salvia divinorum, also known simply as salvia, is a species of herbal mint plant native to Mexico. It is a fast-acting hallucinogenic herb that provides transient psychoactive properties when its leaves are consumed by chewing, smoking, or drinking.

What plants contain DMT in the US? ›

Major plant genera containing DMT include Phalaris, Delosperma, Acacia, Desmodium, Mimosa, Virola, and Psychotria, but DMT has been found even in apparently innocuous sources, such as leaves of citrus plants (Servillo et al., 2012), and in the leaves, seeds, and inner bark of mimosa tenuiflora, which has become a ...

Is Purple Sage hallucinogenic? ›

Certain true sages, members of the genus Salvia in the mint family, are referred to as purple sage: Salvia dorrii, also called Ute tobacco sage, Dorr's sage, etc., has showy purple flowers. It is a mild hallucinogen when smoked, and is used in Native American ceremonies and Native American herbal medicine.

Can sage make you hallucinate? ›

Salvia divinorum (Latin: "sage of the diviners"; also called ska maría pastora, seer's sage, yerba de la pastora or simply salvia) is a plant species with transient psychoactive properties when its leaves are consumed by chewing, smoking, or as a tea. The leaves contain opioid-like compounds that induce hallucinations.

Is salvia a divinorum seed? ›

Although growing Salvia Divinorum through seeds is uncommon because these plants don't usually produce seeds. People grow this plant through cutting. If you are trying to cultivate this plant through seeds, you need to be really careful because it is rare for these seeds to be viable.

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