no. never. such a thought would never cross my mind. I would just try to make sure he stays seated or reclined. as long as you're not standing (can fall, hit head, pple have died that way), salvia is completely safe. most of the effects last 15 min and within an hour you are 100% back to normal. it's generally very unpleasant, and most people do it only once, the ones who continue to use it only do so a few more times. Plus i'd rather my son smoke salvia than eat shrooms, salvia incapacitates you preventing you from doing any damage to yourself as long as your sitting or laying down, and the "trip" is so short it's highly unlikely to seriously affect the psyche or cause a traumatic experience. no matter how bad it is, you snap out of it real quick. with mushrooms, you have to wait up to six hours, LSD up to 18 or more (although thats not a good comparison, LSD and psilocybin belong to a completely different group of compounds - like comparing apples and oranges, but more like apples to peaches). If anything, he'll come out of it a slightly deeper individual, with a greater appreciation for life and spirituality. Salvia is also like a test to see if someone can handle probing the depths of their own consciousness, and therefore should, or if they cant handle it and therefore should not continue on that path. For someone new to psychedelics, it's akin to dipping your toes in the hypothetical psychedelic swimming pool to test the water. If he has a bad trip, he'll be turned off of psychedelics at least for a little while. win. If he has a good trip on salvia (rare), it probably means he learned something, and that he can responsibly handle psychedelics in the future (with a little guidance). win. with salvia, it's a win-win situation for everyone.
salvia is still legal in most states...and will probably stay legal...for those exact reasons.
on the other hand, if my son was smoking salvia on a regular basis for an extended period of time (e.g every day for a few weeks / every week for a few months), i would start to weigh my options. If you're smoking salvia that often, there has to be something seriously wrong with you. no one in their right mind would even want to smoke salvia that often, not the most decrepit junkie, not the most out-there and experienced hippie, not the most hedonistic frat boy. it's a very unpleasant drug. If he was smoking salvia rarely, and it was causing problems such as emotional disturbances, then i would make him stop. i dont think salvia is very hard to stop doing, as it's not something anyone even starts doing in the first place. If a single try of salvia caused him to become emotionally unstable (such as the kid that killed himself in long island a few years back, he was the excuse for the attempted and failed legislation against salvia in NY state), then i would do my best to help him. sending him away would probably not be the best route, although it is something i may consider if the factors call for that - but it will not be to a wilderness or TBS, it would be to a properly run facility - not a cult rehab.
