Salvia Divinorum belongs to the mint family and is commonly known to be a hallucinogenic herb that is used for recreational purposes. Salvia gained immense popularity among teenagers when an American singer and songwriter, Miley Cyrus, was captured smoking this substance in 2010. As salvia received celebrity endorsement, the sale of salvia dramatically increased.
Apart from causing hallucinations, salvia is known to help with a number of medical conditions, including headache, diarrhea, stomach bloating, and joint pain.
With that said, let us shed some light on what salvia is and why it is banned from selling on eBay.
What is Salvia Divinorum?
Also known as Diviners Sage or Divine Mexican Mint, Salvia Divinorum is majorly used as a recreational drug. On consumption, it instantly causes hallucinations, dizziness, and uncontrollable laughter. This last property of salvia is what makes it a popular drug among teenagers.
Salvia typically grows to three feet and has green leaves similar to mint with white and purple flowering. It is dried and smoked the same way we smoke weed. You will find salvia leaves, seeds, and extracts being sold in the market. Here is how salvia is consumed:
- By chewing salvia leaves
- Adding liquid extract into beverages
- Smoking salvia as a joint, bong, or vape
- As tincture drops are placed under the tongue for quick effects
Salvia has some serious short-term and long-term effects. After 5 to 10 minutes of consumption, it can cause loss of coordination, panic, dizziness, and hallucination. Salvia can cause intense hallucinations and cognitive changes when taken in higher doses.
The research on the long-term effects of salvia is quite limited, so we cannot say with certainty how harmful it can be for a person. However, using this substance in high concentrations for a prolonged period can definitely result in serious health effects.
What does salvia Do?
Salvia is not a fun experience for everyone. Many people had frightening and disturbing experiences with salvia. Whatever the effects are, they are mainly due to the major active ingredient; salvinorin A. This chemical is responsible for causing hallucinations as it acts on the receptors present in our brains.
You become unaware of yourself and your surroundings on having the first hit of salvia. It creates a weird feeling of uncertainty, making it difficult to perceive what is real. The effects will be intense if you take high concentration during the first attempt. The potency and leaf quality also plays a role in determining how intense the effects will be.
Salvinorin A also has psychoactive effects, which are experienced when enough concentration of this substance reaches our bloodstream. Since salvia offers a quick short trip, which causes an altered sense of reality, it is appealing to young minds. Adults who wish to get off a trip quickly instead of being high for hours usually get attracted to salvia.
Legality of Salvia Divinorum
Research on salvia is very limited. Since very little is known about this substance, there is an issue with passing legislation about it. There is not enough evidence to support the use of salvia for medicinal purposes. However, researchers are working to understand the long-term effects of this substance. The effects of salvia resemble any other hallucinogens.
Since salvia has very strong effects, it is posing a threat to people’s health, especially teenagers. Therefore, most states have made salvia completely illegal before it becomes a huge problem for the youth. The states where salvia is illegal include Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Virginia.
While in other states like North Carolina, salvia is legal only when it is not used for human consumption. However, in other states where it is legal to possess salvia, selling, delivering, or manufacturing salvinorin A is still illegal. But in California, Maryland, and Maine, the laws for salvia are similar to that of tobacco.
Why is it Banned on eBay?
Although salvia is legal in most US states, eBay doesn’t approve its sale. eBay has prohibited the sale of drugs and other items that are made prohibited by state laws or federal and international government.
According to eBay’s drug policy, any substance that has been listed among Schedule I, II, III, IV, or V of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act 21 cannot be sold on eBay. This includes drugs claiming to cause a ‘legal high’ or any drug-smoking accessories. Considering this, salvia and other related drugs are all banned on eBay. This includes narcotics, marijuana, and drug accessories like vaporizers, tobacco pipes, and anything else that are to be used with drugs.
eBay has devised this policy to sell products in compliance with federal laws. Since it is illegal to sell controlled substances, eBay remains fully compliant with government laws and takes action against whoever tries selling controlled substances on eBay.
If your listing violates the policies of eBay in any way, it will get removed from the site. Even if a person sells controlled substances on eBay, his listings will get canceled or may get demoted from search results. This will ultimately affect the sale. The account can be suspended as well after the removal of listings.
But People Are Still Selling Salvia on eBay
Any listing for salvia you see on eBay is against their drug policy. This means their accounts will be taken down soon by eBay, and get banned from selling anything on this site. This policy is important to have a regular check and balance and to ensure everything sold on eBay is in compliance with federal laws.
In Conclusion
Salvia originally originated in Mexico and has been used as a hallucinogenic and psychedelic substance. It later became popular as a recreational substance. Salvia has intense effects, but they don’t last for hours. As “uncontrollable laughter” is the most common effect of salvia, it appeals to teenagers the most.
Having so many side effects, salvia is illegal in most states of the US. Even the states that have legalized its possession do not allow its sale. For this reason, eBay has also banned selling salvia as it falls under the category of a controlled substance.
