Salvia Divinorum is under fire today from critics who complain that the herb is getting young people high. The main factor drawing attention to the plant is a number of YouTube videos that show teenagers "getting wasted" and looking like idiots, while purportedly under the influence of salvia.

Meanwhile, while the idiot brigade is experimenting with salvia in a means to "get high", real researchers are attempting to discover if the properties of the plant can be beneficial to mankind. For those who have studied hallucinogens, you'll quickly understand that this is always the phase that leads to complete prohibition.

States are now attempting to outlaw and ban the substance as fast as they can. And if successful, it will add one more substance to the banned list that even scientific researchers aren't allowed to experiment with.

Frankly, the effects of Salvia are extremely short lived, so comparisons to drugs like LSD seem a bit off-base. Salvia is also completely non-addictive. But in typical fashion, lawmakers are rushing to ban a plant due to the actions of a few kids on YouTube.

As long as legitimate scientists can't experiment with a plant found in nature, knowledge as a whole is in danger.

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