The Dr. Phil duck -- quack, quack, quack

I had the displeasure this afternoon of watching "Dr." Phil's television program and was totally apalled by all three segments of disinformation that he promoted.

The first segment was on the herb "Salvia Divinorum", a decorative house and garden plant in the United States available at garden stores in 38 states (12 have oiutlawed this plant).

Salvia has been used over a thousand years by the Mezatec Indians of Oaxaca, Mexico, as an aid for Shamanic visions...it is a mild hallucinogen when ingested or smoked.  My mother used to plant these around the house, and I have also.

It's been recently (past 10 years) discovered by young people for its hallucinogenic properties and 12 states have it outlawed and more are trying this nonsense.  GET SERIOUS!  We knew in the 1960s that you could get high smoking the white inside of bananna peels.  Nutmeg (the stuff you put in egg nog) is also technically a hallucinogen when processed properly.  Do we outlaw nutmeg?

The relatively recent emergence of Salvia divinorum in modern Western culture, in comparison to its long continuing traditions of indigenous use elsewhere, contrasts widely differing attitudes on the subject. Opinions range from veneration of the plant as a spiritual sacrament or “a gift from the gods”, to the idea of it as a dangerous threat to society, needing to be banned as quickly as possible in order to “spare countless families the horror of losing a loved one to the relentless tentacles of drug abuse”.  Sounds like the bull for the past 70 years that they try to spread about marijuana.

Interest in Salvia divinorum has been escalating in the news media—particularly in the United States—where an increasing number of newspaper reports have been published and television news stories broadcast. These stories generally raise alarms over salvia’s legal status. Headlining for example with comparisons to LSD, or describing it as “the new pot” for instance, with parental concerns being raised by particular focus on salvia’s use by younger teens. Story headlines may also include ‘danger’ keywords, such as “Dangerous Herb is Legal...” or “Deadly Dangers Of A Street Legal High”.

A medical doctor he had on the program could only say the the "effects are totally unknown".  Medical research so far has shown that it has more beneficial effects and produces no destructive properties.  Again, typical overreaction by nutcases to outlaw anything that they don't understand.

Another segment of the program dealt with a current craze of kids making themselves pass out on roller coasters.  Not a good idea, but not terribly dangerous.  Phil the pill brought up the possibility of banning young people from roller coasters.

I can't believe adults these days.