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Researcher Heather Hare is an idiot. Let me rephrase that, she is certainly NO herbalist. This study is slanted by the american medical community to come down against the use of herbal products, because like it or not, they are losing more and more marketshare to those who are re-learning how to take care of themselves. Just which herbal products are they referring to? St. Johnswort? Ginkgo Biloba or other botanicals that can insure and enhance overall good health? Or are they talking more about ethnobotanicals that are more visionary in nature.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-03/uorm-thp031006.php
This comes on the heels of increased proposals to ban Salvia divinorum or 'Diviner's Sage" The bottom line, no matter why or how you seek out plant allies, is it for the government to legislate proper respect and to save us from ourselves? I personally believe that none of the plant allies should be banned. Banning a plant because some within humanity are addictive personalities and cannot control themselves long enough to curtail overuse and outright abuse is not the answer. Salvia, as true with any other plant ally has a spirit within it. ANd that spirit has wisdom to impart to the user. If one does not approach that in a humble rather than an exploitive manner, they gain so little from the experience - and are not seeing things as they truly are. The spirits of these plants know when your approach is a proper one and when it isn't. Just "getting high" isn't what those of us who respect and interact with plant spirits are after.
Most of the young people that I interact with really want to get back to the real way of things. There is a new gravitation not toward escapism via substances, whether herbal or chemical in order to connnect with themselves. Many have grown up being plugged in, hooked up to the machine and are now waking up to realize there is a whole natural world around them out there, and if they aren't careful and pay attention they are going to miss it. For myself, I will talk about these things with any young person with the tenacity and the heart to want to know about it.
Shame on the researchers for wanting to stomp that spark out.
Crossposted to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
ethnobotanpharm
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-03/uorm-thp031006.php
This comes on the heels of increased proposals to ban Salvia divinorum or 'Diviner's Sage" The bottom line, no matter why or how you seek out plant allies, is it for the government to legislate proper respect and to save us from ourselves? I personally believe that none of the plant allies should be banned. Banning a plant because some within humanity are addictive personalities and cannot control themselves long enough to curtail overuse and outright abuse is not the answer. Salvia, as true with any other plant ally has a spirit within it. ANd that spirit has wisdom to impart to the user. If one does not approach that in a humble rather than an exploitive manner, they gain so little from the experience - and are not seeing things as they truly are. The spirits of these plants know when your approach is a proper one and when it isn't. Just "getting high" isn't what those of us who respect and interact with plant spirits are after.
Most of the young people that I interact with really want to get back to the real way of things. There is a new gravitation not toward escapism via substances, whether herbal or chemical in order to connnect with themselves. Many have grown up being plugged in, hooked up to the machine and are now waking up to realize there is a whole natural world around them out there, and if they aren't careful and pay attention they are going to miss it. For myself, I will talk about these things with any young person with the tenacity and the heart to want to know about it.
Shame on the researchers for wanting to stomp that spark out.
Crossposted to
ethnobotanpharm
