Pop star's bong hit shines light on salvia

By Staff Writer

The herb salvia has gained national attention after a video surfaced of pop star Miley Cyrus allegedly smoking the substance from a bong.

In the video, Cyrus admits that she is hallucinating after inhaling salvia, which is legal in many states. Barbara Carreno, a spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) told E! News that there psychic effects to smoking salvia, such as perceiving bright lights, vivid colors, as well as body and object distortions.

Carreno added that the effects of salvia are similar to other hallucinogens, including mushrooms and LSD. She said that people smoke it solely to get high and hallucinate, and its users typically lose control of their psychology for a short period of time.

This would explain why Cyrus, in the video, mistakes a person for her ex-boyfriend. E! News reports that her father, Billy Ray, said that he was very sad about his daughter's behavior.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy reports that mental health problems, including depression, developmental lags, apathy, withdrawal and other psychosocial dysfunctions, are frequently linked to substance abuse among adolescents.