Bill bans use of hallucinogenic drug Spice

by Sabrina Salas Matanane

Guam - Legislation has been introduced that would ban Salvia Divinorum (or Salvinorum, also known as "spice") on Guam. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, people who abuse salvia generally experience hallucinations, as well as psychedelic-like changes in visual perception, mood and body sensations, emotional swings, feelings of detachment.

A user also typically experiences a highly-modified perception of external reality and the self, leading to a decreased ability to interact with one's surroundings.  In 2009, NIDA's monitoring the future survey of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders asked about salvia abuse for the first time-5.7 percent of high school seniors reported past year use (greater than the percent reporting Ecstasy use).