On Friday, a video of Miley Cyrus inhaling smoke from a bong surfaced. While initial reports downplayed the substance since it has legal status in California, RadarOnline.com has learned that salvia has severe effects similar to those of LSD.
“It’s a psychedelic drug, a hallucinogen, and has the same effects as LSD,” Clare Waismann, a registered addiction specialist and administrative director of the Waismann Method, told RadarOnline.com. While salvia was initially used in Mexico during religious ceremonies, Waismann says those in the US use it strictly for its hallucinogenic properties, leading to disturbing behavior.
“It can cause psychosis, your motion sensors are off, you can feel like you are in two places at the same time, you have 2-D visions,” she added. A rambling Cyrus can be heard in the video saying: “I’m having a little bit of a bad trip. Is that a Liam lookalike — is that my boyfriend? Is that me tripping? Does that look like Liam at all? I want more of that s—.”
Waismann adds that Miley’s evening could have easily taken a turn for the worse. “It is dangerous, absolutely dangerous,” Waismann said of the herb. “One of those kids could have tried to defend themselves against something that wasn’t even there.”
Waismann says that it is even worse than marijuana in terms of being a “gateway drug,” leading to the use of more problematic substances.
“It is a gateway drug in a higher stand than marijuana because it makes you lose touch with reality,” Waismann said. Lately, she says Miley “has been more and more choosing the wrong path,” and her bad behavior is “escalating.”
Waismann, who has not treated Miley but has treated other celebrities with addiction, sees patients mainly between the ages of 20-30 years old.
She fears that teens who look up to Cyrus will look past salvia’s harmful effects and only see “the glamour” of the star’s life- especially if Cyrus doesn’t speak up about her irresponsible actions.
“[Salvia] is not a well-known drug, but now because of that video, you will have teens looking for it,” Waismann explained. “She needs to talk about her behavior and educate kids that she has put in jeopardy by this bad example.”
Source: Radar Online
