According to the AP, Oregon is considering joining five other states that have banned possession of salvia divinorum. In an incredibly cogent statement on the topic, Bryan Roth, a pharmacology professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, remarked:
"It's not toxic as far as we know... But it's dangerous in the sense that when people take it they are disoriented. It's not the sort of thing you would want to smoke while you are driving."
Thank you, Professor Roth, for that incredible news flash. I hope this warning goes out to the mad, mad culture of salvia-ingesting drag racers that are menacing our city streets. While we're at it, let's ban blindfolds, which make for some
truly disoriented driving, and are available in a lot more places than salvia is. (Anyway, people shouldn't be smoking blindfolds in the first place, but I digress.)
