Download How Criminal Law Affects Health Care and Religious Freedom

Sage of the Seer
Sage of the Seer:
How Criminal Law affects Health Care and Religious Freedom
by
Alexandra Chauran
Health Care Policy
PADM 7510
Dr. Mary Eleanor Wickersham
September 27th, 2012
Valdosta State University
1
Sage of the Seer
Introduction
Salvia is a cultigen of the Mazatec Indians in Oxaca Mexico. Originally, it was used in
shamanistic rituals for spiritual connection with deity, and also as a healing herb through shamanic
healing and through direct use to cure pain relief as well as digestive and neurologic disorders (Pearl et
al, 2010, 385). Indigenous peoples have always consumed Salvia by chewing the leaves, to produce
contact with the mucous membranes. Salvia was, and still is, used prayerfully and in darkness in order
to produce a shamanic connection with a healing divinity (Ball, 2009, 58).
When Salvia was imported, Americans began smoking the drug recreationally to achieve a
shorter and more intense hallucinatory high. Typically, Salvia is recreationally used as a one-time party
drug, used in a dark room while listening to music in order to produce a strong hallucinatory effect that
most first time users don’t desire to repeat. Though teens are more likely to use Salvia for recreational
purposes, users who begin as adults favor its spiritual effects (Pearl et al, 2010, 389).
Since Salvia’s appearance in the media’s eye, laws have quickly risen to combat what is seen as a
loophole for a legal high. However, it remains to be seen whether Salvia is actually a problem to public
health. In fact, restricting Salvia may do more to hinder public health than help it, since it can interfere
with the development of pharmaceuticals. A confounding factor is that religious use of Saliva still occurs
and is growing. Therefore, the freedom of those who use Salvia religiously must be considered
regardless of the potential harmfulness of the plant.
Salvia - the Legal High?
Supposedly, Salvia has swept the country as a dangerous drug. Public opinion has mostly spread
via videos on YouTube of young people experiencing a legal high by smoking the drug, which is a mode
of intake entirely different from its original use (Pearl et al, 2010, 390). Most of the videos take the
2
Sage of the Seer
same predictable course in which a young person inhales the fumes of Salvia smoke and holds it for
nearly half a minute. Afterwards, mobility is compromised and the user will normally seem comatose
with a vacant stare, although occasional videos feature a few uncoordinated gross motor movements.
Within a few minutes, the user returns to reality to regale the viewers with tales of euphoria, body
sensations and spatial confusion and total sensory hallucinations. Salvia can have a greater
hallucinatory effect than even drugs like marijuana and mushrooms.
Since Salvia can be easily grown as a houseplant and distributed in smoke shops or online in
psychedelic colored packaging, legislators moved swiftly once Salvia sprang into the public’s eye.
Canada plans to outlaw Salvia nationally, joining other countries like Australia and Belgium (Collier,
2011, E274). In the U.S., thirteen states have legally restricted Salvia use (Pearl et al, 2010, 386). From
the ease of propagation from cuttings and the hardiness of Salvia as a houseplant or even a decorative
outdoor plant in some regions of the United States, enforcement of a ban of Salvia may be impractical.
Will outlawing Saliva stop its recreational use? Though users initially try legal drug alternatives
because of the affordability, consistency, low profile and access afforded to it by its legal status, it turns
out that recreational users report that they will still buy legal highs even when their legal status changes
(McElrath & Van Hout, 2011, 498). Since recreational Salvia smokers tend to be concurrent marijuana
users, they are already comfortable with the illicit drug trade (Pearl et al, 2010, 389). It seems likely
that, even if Salvia were banned entirely, teenagers would still be able to obtain it and use it at parties.
The lure of a banned and dangerous drug might make it even more appealing.
Once Salvia was outlawed in many regions, there were those who still asked why. After all, even
the YouTube video in which a man sat in a car using Salvia, it almost served as evidence that there could
be no danger from a user who wasn’t coordinated enough to start the car. Is Salvia a frightening
temptation for the careless or the crazy, or might it be the safest recreational drug since one can’t get
3
Sage of the Seer
into any danger while one is incapacitated by Salvia? Despite widespread and growing use, Salvia illness
or injuries have not been reported at all in hospitals. Not even the common falls that are associated
with alcohol use have been seen, since the use of Salvia is incompatible with walking around or
undertaking other potentially dangerous activities.
Is there a danger?
Salvia is not addictive (Pearl et al, 2010, 390). Like marijuana and other hallucinogens, Salvia is a
concern for people who may be predisposed to psychotic disorders without knowing it. For serious
mental illnesses like schizophrenia, it is hypothesized that a drug can be a trigger for the inevitable
onset. The most terrifying possible outcome of Salvia use would be suicide. There is currently no
scientific evidence that Salvia has any long-term negative health effects whatsoever (Collier, 2011,
E274). Further studies, of course, should be conducted on Salvia use. However, if it is outlawed widely
enough, obtaining Salvia for research may be limited.
Much of the legal controversy was started by the parents of a single teenager, Brett Chidester,
who committed suicide after using the drug, and one documented case of psychosis developing after
using Salvia has been reported (Przekop, 2009, 832). In both isolated and controversial cases, it cannot
be proven that the use of salvia directly resulted in the negative effects the two individuals experienced.
Though no numbers have been gathered as to how many Salvia users, regular or otherwise, there may
be in the United States, it is obvious that the two who may or may not have been negatively affected are
rare cases, indeed.
Ska Maria Pastora – Pharmaceutical
The varied and changing legal status of Salvia makes it difficult for research to be done on the
drug to either prove or disprove claims against it. Even more tragic, the limited access to Salvia and its
4
Sage of the Seer
active ingredient is preventing the study and development of potentially medically useful purposes for
the drug, such as potential treatments for mental illness (Collier, 2011, E274). If there were a potential
for a cure for diseases that could be grown on any kitchen countertop, wouldn’t you want to know
about it? Criminal law surrounding drugs like Salvia can seriously limit the progress of pharmaceuticals
that have a direct impact on health care.
Is there a benefit?
Though there is a worry that Salvia may trigger a psychotic break, paradoxically, it might also
someday treat psychotic disorders like schizophrenia, in the same way that drugs considered “uppers”
can treat attention and hyperactivity disorders. Even more compelling, early studies show that, not only
is Salvia not addictive, but it may be used to treat serious addictions. In the case of Alcohol, drugs like
Salvia can lessen the dangerous and stressful affects associated with withdrawal as well as prevent
relapse (Walker et al, 2012, 366).
Salvia has affects that may make it the first antidepressant that lacks common side-effects that
stop many people from treating their illnesses (Braida et al, 2009, 850). Salvia can be grown and
produced very cheaply, and extremely low doses have a huge potential to treat mental illnesses and
addictions. It would seem that, if even a few people could be helped by Salvia, it would already
outnumber those who have supposedly been harmed by the plant.
Seer’s Sage – Religious Freedom
Historically, the first use of Saliva was religious in nature. As a healing herb, Salvia users would
act as shamans, using Salvia to speak with entities or energies that could reveal wisdom to cure spiritual
afflictions, by addressing the herb verbally in prayer while using it and experiencing resulting visions. In
modern times, even in Western America, there are those who use Salvia for religious purposes. Many
5
Sage of the Seer
Neopagans practice the art of divination using entheogens like Saliva. For religious usage, Salvia may
actually be the safest option, since there is no known danger of accidental overdose. But what is to stop
people from forming a bogus church in order to recreationally use drugs? Indeed, that happened in the
60’s with LSD users in New York (Lander, 2011, 69). Since the Controlled Substances Act, less groups
have been able to pull such a trick. However, the Supreme Court has ruled to allow exceptions to
criminal law for religious use of entheogens as recently as 2006, so long as the drugs involved are
unlikely to be abused and have always been central to the religion concerned (Bullis, 2008, 198).
Is there a point?
Religious use of entheogens may be one of the most ancient and enduring practices that
promote connection to the divine (Lander, 2011, 73). Users of Saliva report visions and a feeling of
connection with the divine (Ball, 2009, 58). Though the recreational smoking of Salvia may produce a
jarring effect, those who use Salvia in the traditional method tend to report a more gentle and
reproducible effect. Salvia can be thought of as a way that ordinary people can experience the sort of
divine connection that trained monks achieve after years of meditation.
The American who first discovered Salvia among the Mazatec in Mexico and imported it, Gordon
Wasson, became a deep believer in the spiritual use of the plant (Ceraso, 2008, 234). Wasson believed
that the use of entheogens produced an experience that could not be had in any other way, and
therefore the discovery of the mysteries of a spiritual drug constituted a valid religious practice.
Comparing the use of entheogens with the Elusian mysteries of ancient Greece, he realized that the
unknown would be frightening to the uninitiated, but insisted that those who were changed positively
by their experiences be allowed to continue their spiritual use.
Wasson also believed that the use of entheogens by the natives he stumbled upon gave them
psychic powers, since they were able to tell him information about his son back in the states that he had
6
Sage of the Seer
not shared (Luke, 2010, 225). Divination and the use of psychic understanding is a vital and recognized
part of many religious and spiritual practices. Saliva is well-known for producing effects that make the
users feel telepathic, working in harmony with psychic belief and also nurturing those who seek
connection with the universe (Juszczak, 2012, 289).
Positive Points to Criminal Policy
If criminal policy for Salvia were continued and expanded, there are several benefits that might
be noticed. First, if there are any unknown negative effects to Salvia, they would not be allowed to
affect a large portion of the population. It is possible that Salvia use would wane before people were
harmed that otherwise may have been injured or killed.
If the idea of a “gateway drug,” often used to refer to marijuana, has merit, limiting Salvia use
may limit exposure to other drugs. Since Salvia is particularly available to children, outlawing Salvia may
offer some protection from drug use by the most vulnerable and young members of our society.
Because no studies have been done on long-term safety of Salvia or the effects of it on children or
pregnant women, its safety has not been proven, and it is possible that it could be horrendously unsafe.
Negative Points to Criminal Policy
As has been discussed earlier in this paper, Salvia may be very helpful to the health of the
mentally ill as well as to those addicted to substances, but if it is outlawed, there will be a barrier to
developing pharmaceuticals. Outlawing Salvia may also infringe on the religious rights of those who use
it for spiritual purposes.
The costs associated with pursuing and enforcing criminal policy on Salvia are also a huge
downside. If Salvia is harmless, then the nation and states will be wasting money on its persecution.
7
Sage of the Seer
Likewise, innocent people will be incarcerated and lose money and time from their lives, as well as
exiting the workforce and their useful places in society.
Recommendation
It is my recommendation that, because the safety of Saliva has not yet been approved for safety,
particularly by children and pregnant women, that Salvia’s commercial distribution for recreational
purposes be regulated. Packaging of smoking Salvia should be printed with a warning label for children
and pregnant women, and smoke shop owners and Internet sites should be encouraged to have an age
verification process to prevent purchase by children under the age of 18.
Growing and use or possession of Salvia should not be subject to criminal law, even by minors.
If children belong to a family that practices shamanistic use of Salvia, they can feel free to make the
decision to allow their children to use Salvia if they wish. Since fresh Salvia is typically used in spiritual
contexts, and not recreational, it would be a waste of resources to regulate it.
Conclusion
Current information suggests that the potential benefits of free production distribution and use
of Salvia outweighs its negative effects on public health. As such, there is no reason to spend money
and resources to limit peoples’ interactions with Salvia. Right now, resistance to Salvia is largely a
cultural controversy, rather than one based in evidence.
It may be suggested that traditional use of Salvia is unnecessary, since spiritual states can be
achieved through prayer and meditation, but to deny that some people need drugs like Salvia to connect
with deity is to be deeply ethnocentric. Because hallucinatory effects can be experienced, Salvia has
been charged as guilty until proven innocent, but such thinking only costs our society.
8
Sage of the Seer
Bibliography
Ball, M. W. 2009. “Foods of the Gods.” Spirituality & Health, 12(6), 54-61.
Braida, D., Capurro, V., Zani, A., Rubino, T., Viganò, D., Parolaro, D., & Sala, M. 2009. “Potential
anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects of salvinorin A, the main active ingredient of Salvia
divinorum, in rodents.” British Journal Of Pharmacology, 157(5), 844-853.
Brendan M., W., Glenn R., V., Jay P., M., & Georgy, B. 2012. “Targeting dynorphin/kappa opioid receptor
systems to treat alcohol abuse and dependence.” Alcohol, 46359-370.
Bullis, R. K. 2008. “The ‘Vine of the Soul’ vs. The Controlled Substances Act: Implications of the Hoasca
Case.” Journal Of Psychoactive Drugs, 40(2), 193-199.
Ceraso, A. 2008. “Entheogens and the Public Mystery: The Rhetoric of R. Gordon Wasson.”
Configurations, 16(2), 215.
Collier, R. 2011. “Controlling salvia.” CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal, 183(5), E274.
Juszczak, G. R. 2012. “Hallucinatory Telepathic Experiences Induced by Salvia divinorum.” Journal Of
Scientific Exploration, 26(2), 285-295.
Lander, D. R. 2011. “Start Your Own Religion: New York State's Acid Churches.” Nova Religio: The Journal
Of Alternative & Emergent Religion, 14(3), 64-80.
Luke, D. 2010. “Connecting, Divergin and Reconnecting: Putting the Psi Back Into Psychadelic Research”
Journal Of Parapsychology, 74(2), 219-234.
9
Sage of the Seer
McElrath, K. & Van Hout M.C. 2011. “A Preference For Mephedrone: Drug Markets, Drugs of Choice,
and the Emerging ‘Legal High’ Scene.” Journal of Drug Issues. 41(4), 487-507.
Nyi, P., Lai, E., Lee, D., Biglete, S., Torrecer, G., & Anderson, I. 2010. “Influence of age on Salvia
divinorum use: results of an Internet survey.” Journal Of Psychoactive Drugs, 42(3), 385-392.
Przekop, P., & Lee, T. 2009. “Persistent psychosis associated with salvia divinorum use.” The American
Journal Of Psychiatry, 166(7), 832.
10