Guest guest Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 Hi All, & Bill Bill, what I wrote was: " I agree with Andrea Beth; herbal professionals must lobby to retain the right to prescribe mind-altering herbs, like any other medicinals. ... Herbalists must have the same access to their medicinals as medic and vets have to their drugs. " Bill Schoenbart replied: > I have no problem with somebody who wants to ingest psychoactive > entheogens on their own. It's a personal choice, where the individual > can weigh the benefits versus the risks. It's a different situation > when you start offering them to patients who assume that your > prescription is based on the tradition you were trained in. > It's one thing to suggest to a chemo patient that medical marijuana > may help with their nausea; it's altogether different to suggest that > people use psychedelics. While there are certainly people who use > Salvia for spiritual and ceremonial purposes, there are plenty of > others who mis-use it: > http://www.hightimes.com/ht/entertainment/content.php?bid=208 & aid=13 > http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-04-02-salvia_x.htm > Some people may find spiritual inspiration; others may find madness. > Are you prepared to take the responsibility for the latter? Bill, I am not promoting the use of Salvia divinorum, or any of the more potent psychedelics or entheogens (mescaline, scopolamine, THC, LSD, etc) per se! My comment was that herbalists should lobby to retain the RIGHT to prescribe, access and use psychoactives in the same way as any other herbal remedies. Pharmacology means the " study/science/knowledge of medicines/drugs/poisons " , from the Greek word Pharmacon (a medicine or drug; also, a poison. --Dunglison). As discussed earlier, all our drugs and herbal remedies are potentially toxic if misused. Google has few hits on medicinal uses of S. divinorum, and it appears to have very few references on Chinese sites, except for commercial sites that sell the seeds or leaves. I suspect that few if any TCM herbalists would prescribe S. divinorum within their practice of CHM. That is not the point; other herbalists, especially those using S American / Mexican herbalism may wish to do so. Also, the dosage that they would use would probably take into account its known effects on the psyche (probably at much higher doses). http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic223.htm says: Salvinorin A is a naturally occurring hallucinogen that is found in a variety of plants but is named from Salvia divinorum, or diviners sage, a member of the mint family. Salvinorin A is unique, in that unlike other known hallucinogenic substances that interact with serotonin (5-HT2 receptors) metabolism, this substance has been identified as the first known naturally occurring kappa-opioid receptor agonist. This substance has been used by the Mazatec Indians in Mexico for ceremonial purposes. Those interested to read material on it may visit http://www.sagewisdom.org/ http://www.sagewisdom.org/legalstatus.html S. divinorum is banned by law in many countries and its importation, sale, or possession carries heavy penalties in some states. Herbalists must act within the Laws of the land in which they live, but those who may need to use S divinorum (or other banned herbs, such as medicinal marijuana) may be able to get a permit for use in special cases where legal alternatives may be ineffective. Best regards, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 If we lobby for the right to prescribe psychedelic entheogens, I can assure you that the headlines won't be helpful to the profession. It's best to leave that sort of lobbying up to the religious and indigenous groups who use those herbs as part of their culture. Regarding Chinese herbs, I don't know of any that are being targeted by the FDA due to any psychoactive effects. Ma Huang was targeted due to cardiac side effects. Yes, it was being improperly sold as a " natural high " , but it was the heart attacks and strokes that caught the attention of FDA. We need to lobby to protect our access to herbs, but we should avoid the controversy and legal mess that is associated with psychedelics. Otherwise, those efforts may have the opposite effect, causing the legal authorities and the media to target us as irresponsible in our promotion of herbal medicine. ............................................. Bill Schoenbart, L.Ac. P.O. Box 8099 Santa Cruz, CA 95061 office phone: 831-335-3165 email: plantmed ............................................. >>>>>>>>Bill, what I wrote was: " I agree with Andrea Beth; herbal professionals must lobby to retain the right to prescribe mind-altering herbs, like any other medicinals. ... Herbalists must have the same access to their medicinals as medic and vets have to their drugs. " Bill, I am not promoting the use of Salvia divinorum, or any of the more potent psychedelics or entheogens (mescaline, scopolamine, THC, LSD, etc) per se! My comment was that herbalists should lobby to retain the RIGHT to prescribe, access and use psychoactives in the same way as any other herbal remedies. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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