Do Untapped Medical Uses for Salvia Exist?
On the other end of the spectrum, chemists and researchers around the world are scrambling to find out if salvia could be helpful in treating disease — before it is made illegal. Once the herb is criminalized, says Roth, it would be “almost impossible” to get it approved for human medicinal uses. Currently, there are no approved human uses for salvia and the research is still in its beginning stages. Said Dr. Joseph Banken, a clinical psychiatrist and recreational drug researcher at the University of Arkansas of Medical Sciences, no other chemical works quite like salvia. “Salvia has been used for 5,000 years by the Mazatec Indians in religious ceremonies, to communicate with spirits. But it’s new to us,” Banken said. “Scientifically, it’s a bit of a puzzlement.” In an interview conducted by Banken, only 1 percent of users said they craved or needed salvia. The effects were called “unique” by 40 percent of users, yet several said the effects were so intense they would not use it again
