And the media item today most likely to both help generate interest in a drug previously not too popular and to also most likely speed up changes in its legal status is the front page article in Wednesday June 27th's San Francisco Chronicle about the Mexican "sacred weed" Salvia Divinorum with a bold heading about the LEGAL, INTENSE, HALLUCINOGEN that reportedly "when chewed or smoked causes intense hallucinations comparable to LSD or "magic mushrooms"" and "is available all over the Bay Area, mostly in smoke shops and herbal stores.

 It's also sold over the Internet. For $15 to $50 a hit users get high that sends them into a dreamlike state for anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or two. The article appears online under the heading "The Legal Hallucinogen" at sfgate. My guess is that it will all sound most appealing to those looking for a new high (except for the $50 a hit part !!!!) especially the fact it is still legal. Just like LSD was up until 40 years ago - up until the end of the Summer of Love.

The Chronicle article goes on to mention how many videos of folks gettin' twisted on this short but intense high drug are being posted on YouTube. This fact will no doubt send the curious (like myself) to search on YouTube where my quick SEARCH this morning on YouTube search under "Salvia divinorum"  netted a total of 173 video postings including "Her Salvia Divinorum Trip 20 X First Time" -  a homemade video of a girl getting wasted and being filmed by her male friend.

However, like most LSD type drugs,  it is much more fun to take the hallucinogen yourself than watch (poor amateur) video footage of others doing them. Hence much better and a million times more informative is the professionally shot UK documentary "Sacred Weeds Salvia Divinorum"  about all aspects of this "sacred weed" which is supposed to give those who injest it spiritual insights. Both this video and the Chronicle article offer the pros and cons of the drug.  This is the link to Part 6 of the documentary. Meantime here's a video about tripping on the drug that makes one giggle a lot - made in  2005/6.

 

Salvia divinorum is a bright, leafy green plant from Mexico that when chewed or smoked causes intense hallucinations comparable to LSD or "magic mushrooms."

  BEST NEW DRUG HOAX BY MUSIC GROUP

"Sex Packets" - the fictional ecstacy-meets-orgasm themed drug dreamt up by Shock G & Digital Underground  for their March 1990 debut release of the same name featuring Humpty Hump and others by the P-Funky, trippy Bay Area crew on Tommy Boy Records.

Note: that's supposedly a "sex packet" that Shock G is holding in his hand. Lucky for DU, their label Tommy Boy completely got behind the hoax by even making up "Sex Packet" promos - a placebo in a packet send to press , retail, and radio - advertising the fake drug and was so convincing that many actually believed the drug to be real!

SACRED WEEDS COMMMENTS FEEDBACK SURVEY
If you have any salvia divinorum experiences (firsthand or other) to share? Do you have comments about this drug (pro or con)? Do you know any slang terms for this drug beside "sacred weeds" or can you offer a good new slang term that might apply to this drug? What do you think is the best song about trippin' or hallucinogens? Please post answers in the COMMENTS box below (scroll all the way down)



Even back in 1984 Huey Lewis and the News 'wanted a new drug' (see complete "I Want A New Drug" lyrics below) It was almost as if the Bay Area born and bred pop-rock outfit, who were extremely popular in the 1980's and are back gigging again (August 23rd @ Wente Vineyards), were predicting or welcoming the (then still legal) drug MDMA or ecstasy. One of this blogger's favorite Huey Lewis pop-culture in a movie cross-reference is that wonderful and very dark-comedy scene in "American Psycho" where the character Patrick Bateman as the "psycho" has the following dialog with Paul Allen about Huey Lewis and the News:

Patrick Bateman: Do you like Huey Lewis and the news?

Paul Allen: They're OK.

Patrick Bateman: Their early work was a little too new wave for my tastes, but when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own, commercial and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. He's been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far much more bitter, cynical sense of humour.

Paul Allen: Hey Halberstram.

Patrick Bateman: Yes, Allen?

Paul Allen: Why are their copies of the style section all over the place, d-do you have a dog? A little chow or something?

Patrick Bateman: No, Allen.

Paul Allen: Is that a rain coat?

Patrick Bateman: Yes it is! In '87, Huey released this, Fore, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip to be Square", a song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself.
[raises axe above head]

I WANT A NEW DRUG
I want a new drug
One that wont make me sick
One that wont make me crash my car
Or make me feel three feet thick

I want a new drug
One that wont hurt my head
One that wont make my mouth too dry
Or make my eyes too red

One that wont make me nervous
Wondering what to do
One that makes me feel like I feel when Im with you
When Im alone with you

I want a new drug
One that wont spill
One that dont cost too much
Or come in a pill

I want a new drug
One that wont go away
One that wont keep me up all night
One that wont make me sleep all day

One that wont make me nervous
Wondering what to do
One that makes me feel like I feel when Im with you
When Im alone with you
Im alone with you baby

I want a new drug
One that does what it should
One that wont make me feel too bad
One that wont make me feel too good

I want a new drug
One with no doubt
One that wont make me talk too much
Or make my face break out

One that wont make me nervous
Wondering what to do
One that makes me feel like I feel when Im with you
When Im alone with you