April 28, 2008

You Wanna Get High?


So there is a pretty potent legal (for now) drug out there called "salvia," or Salvia divinorum for you science geeks out there. Scientists at the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have performed brain imaging studies on primates to try and find out the abuse mechanism and potential of the drug.

The drug is basically a mint plant you can smoke as dried up leaves or resin (serum to the scientists). A chemist and the lead author at Brookhaven said salvia "is probably one of the most potent hallucinogens known," meaning that people in most states can still get there hands on one of the most psychadelic drugs out there.

Anyway, the researchers estimate that it takes as little as 10 micrograms (10-6) in the brain to cause psychoactive effects in humans. The peak concentration of salvinorin A (the active hallucinogen) hit the brain nearly 10 times faster than the rate at which cocaine enters the brain, and by 16 minutes later the drug was all but gone.

The cerebellum and visual cortex were the only place that high concentrations were found. These parts of the brain responsible for motor function and vision, respectively. So if you do it now you know pretty much exactly what's going on in ya brain.

Salvia is getting a good bit of attention in the scientific news which means that lawmakers are sure to pop their heads in and make it illegal soon, so if you like getting high on it you may want to stockpile your resources. I in no way condone the use of any illegal drug but I guess its legal and we're finally getting some credible scientific evidence on it, so rock on hippies.

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