A neighbor describes that Jared Loughner used to play beautiful jazz music out of his parents house. However, between September 9, 2007, there was a downward spiral of mental health issues and a drug history.
In 2006 Loughner was only 16-years-old when he came to school highly intoxicated and was transported to the hospital. Loughner told sheriff’s deputies he consumed about 12 ounces of alcohol — stolen from his father.
On September 9, 2007, Loughner was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia after a traffic stop on the outskirts of Tucson.
Afterwards he was …
- known to use cannabis and the legal hallucinogen salvia
- known to keep pot and vodka in a safe at home
- arrested for tagging graffiti in Marana, Arizona (fall 2008)
- rejected by the U.S. Army after failing a drug test (late 2008)
- was observed with strange behavior, such inappropriate grinning, speaking gibberish, laughing to himself, making a comment about strapping a bomb to an aborted fetus, and clenching his fists
- involved in classroom disruptions and involved in five encounters with campus police (At least two classmates feared he would bring a gun to school)
- fired from a volunteer job at an animal shelter for defying instructions in 2010
- fired from jobs at Peter Piper Pizza, Red Robin, Quiznos, Eddie Bauer and a Chinese fast-food restaurant.
- involved in a dispute over getting a grade letter ‘B’ with a Pilates teacher
- observed withdrawing in class and listening to his iPod and doodling
- after a threat complaint from teacher, Loughner was observed by police to constantly tilt his head to the left, with his eyes jittery and gazing up to the left (September 2010)
- suspended from Pima Community College after uploading a bizarre video tour of the school (October 2010)
- he was heard saying he liked to shoot things and that he could control his dreams while at a tattoo shop getting a tattoo of a bullet that he carried into the business as a model (November 2010)
The availability of mental health services and alcohol and drug abuse issues are coming under scrutiny as more is learned about Jared Loughner. Before the massacre allegedly committed by Jared Loughner, no serious harmful incidents have been connected to Salvia. Further investigation of the long-term effects is probably forthcoming — particularly the question of whether the use of Salvia divinorum can cause future psychotic episodes.
In an unmodified state, salvia—whether it’s smoked, chewed, or swallowed in extract form—produces an intense high, lasting less than half an hour. “It’s one of the most behaviorally impairing drugs that we’ve come across,” says Dr. Matthew Johnson, assistant professor of psychology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. “At the higher doses, people are completely dissociated from this reality . . . They describe being completely transported to another dimension.”
— Newsweek (Salvia and the Arizona Shooting by Kate Dailey)
A significant number of videos about Salvia usage are uploaded on YouTube. Some so-called ‘experts’ offer advice on how to use, whether to use, and what dosage to use. Other videos show apparent ‘trips’ of people under the influence of Salvia (See ‘my friends first time on salvia‘).
You may also want to search ‘Salvia‘ and ‘Salvia trip‘ on YouTube.
Most of the videos are disturbing, and some involve graphic language. Many of the titles describe the ‘trips’ as horrible, and many of the videos have views in the millions.
Last year pop star Miley Cyrus was caught on video last year smoking salvia from a bong.
Currently, there’s very little scientific information about the drug’s effects—thanks, in part, to salvia’s relative safety. “So far the federal government has not funded any studies, because it’s not seen as relevant until someone dies of an overdose,” says Dr. John Mendelson, a pharmacologist at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute. “The only reported injuries are idiot injuries: people drop the apparatus they were using, fall of their chair, that type of thing.”
— Newsweek (Salvia and the Arizona Shooting by Kate Dailey)
Salvia divinorum (also known as Diviner’s Sage, Ska María Pastora, Seer’s Sage, and by its genus name Salvia) is a psychoactive plant which can induce dissociative effects and is a potent producer of “visions” and other hallucinatory experiences.
Salvia divinorum was made illegal in Illinois and added to the state’s list of Schedule I controlled substances on Friday, August 17, 2007 — adding it to a long list of Schedule I and II controlled substances, including heroin, LSD, methamphetamine (MDMA), morphine, PCP and many others.
Salvia divinorum remains legal in most countries and, within some states in the United States. However, many have called for its prohibition or are in progress of calling for its prohibition. While Salvia is not currently regulated by US federal drug laws, several states have passed laws criminalizing the substance.
Salvia information related to Arizona law …
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Forty-ninth Legislature
Second Regular Session
2010
HB 2687
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 13, chapter 34, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 13-3423, to read:
13-3423. Unlawful selling, dispensing, distributing, furnishing, administering or giving salvia divinorum; classification; definition
A. IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR A PERSON TO SELL, DISPENSE, DISTRIBUTE, FURNISH, ADMINISTER OR GIVE OR OFFER TO SELL, DISPENSE, DISTRIBUTE, FURNISH, ADMINISTER OR GIVE SALVIA DIVINORUM TO A PERSON WHO IS UNDER TWENTY-ONE YEARS OF AGE.
B. IT IS AN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE TO A PROSECUTION FOR A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION THAT THE PERSON REASONABLY RELIED ON FRAUDULENT PROOF OF AGE PRESENTED BY THE PERSON WHO IS UNDER TWENTY-ONE YEARS OF AGE.
C. A PERSON WHO VIOLATES THIS SECTION IS GUILTY OF A CLASS 2 MISDEMEANOR.
D. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, “SALVIA DIVINORUM” MEANS THE HERB SALVIA DIVINORUM, SALVINORIN A, DIVINORIN A OR ANY SUBSTANCE OR MATERIAL THAT CONTAINS SALVIA DIVINORUM, SALVINORIN A OR DIVINORIN A.
More info …
Illinois General Assembly Full Text of HB0457 | Bill Status
Wikipedia Legal Status of Salvia divinorum