Addiction expert voices concern over mind-altering effects of legal drug in internet video craze
18 September 2009
St George’s specialist in addictive behaviour warns against the dangerous effects of the legal drug involved in a YouTube video controversy.
Salvia, a legally available hallucinogenic drug, is at the centre of a controversial YouTube video craze. After filming themselves smoking mind-altering salvia leaves, hundreds of young people then post the video online.
The effects of the drug are “unpredictable and alarming”, warns Dr Ken Checinski, senior lecturer in addictive behaviour at St George's, University of London.
Salvia is a member of the mint family and is the most hallucinogenic herb known. It contains salvinorin A – included within the ‘dissociative’ class of psychoactive drugs, which are believed to reduce signals between the conscious mind and the rest of the brain. When smoked, the plant can produce visionary hallucinations, sparking a short-lived but intense ‘trip’.
Dr Checinski explains: "Just because it's legal, doesn't mean it won't do you harm.
"Salvia contains a number of psychoactive substances. In extreme cases it can produce a psychotic reaction.
“Individual responses to Salvia are highly unpredictable, and the amount of psychoactive compound is very variable. This is Russian roulette - a recipe for potential disaster.”
In one controversial YouTube video, a girl says that her mouth is going to fall off - this has been viewed more than two million times. Other footage includes a teenager stumbling around to fend off an imagined attack and babbling incoherently.
Many countries have already banned the drug including Australia, Belgium and Germany. And the US Drug Enforcement Agency has listed it as a ‘drug of concern’.
But at present it is legal in the UK and can be bought online and on the street for as little as £2.
The Government is planning a crackdown on a variety of legal highs this year, including GBL and BZP. However, salvia is not on the list.
Dr Checinski and St George’s research fellow Dr Martin Schmidt have carried out studies on the availability and awareness of herbal and legal highs. Amongst their findings was that the market in legal highs has grown over the last three years and that websites selling legal highs appear less likely to carry safety warnings than they did in 2006 and appear more likely to sell products without listing all the ingredients.
For additional information on legal highs and their effects, start by looking at www.talktofrank.com or calling 0800 776600.
Read more about Salvia and Dr Checinski’s comments on the Sun’s and the Telegraph’s website.
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