By NADIA PFLAUM
When I was in high school, video cameras were still large, heavy and required Dad's permission to borrow.
But since digital video cameras became affordable and cuter than shit, every bored, suburban teenager seems to have one. And while there are undoubtedly thousands of budding Kubricks out there making mind-blowing films, there are also thousands of kids filming each other's minds being blown.
So while experimenting with drugs, as bored, suburban teenagers are wont to do, they can film each other tweaking out. Later, when they upload it all onto YouTube, they end up outing 
themselves on the 'net, thereby educating us old folks about what the kids are up to these days.
Interestingly, the most creative ways of getting high aren't even illegal in most states. There's a plant called Salvia divinorum that looks like mint, but has no distinct smell. When smoked, it produces a brief-but-intense high that includes hysterical laughing and inexplicable hallucinating. Sound fun?
I thought so too, until I saw this guy.
He is SO grounded.
Salvia was deemed a Schedule 1 hallucinogen in Missouri in 2005. It's still legal in Kansas, but just today, Senate Bill 481 passed the Kansas House and is on its way to becoming law.
"Robotripping" is the other not-at-all-new, legal substance that you and the hot girl from Econ are guzzling by the bottleful on YouTube. I remember kids talking about the 'Tussin back in high school, but it never seemed that appealing to me. Maybe this next video, posted by someone from Lawrence, is why.
Some people might find these videos immensely entertaining, but these kids' moms probably don't. Just a tip, kiddos: After you're done rewinding and watching and laughing at your friends drooling and rolling around on the floor, press ERASE.
Don't know about robotripping, but salvia is all in good fun. I've smoked salvia lots of times but I don't think I ever acted like that... probably because I knew what I was getting into. It isn't always "fun" but it is always very intense and interesting, and often mind blowing. It's wrong to give it to someone to smoke without informing them of the exact nature of the experience (it can be scary), and it's just twisting the knife to mess with them while they're high. Other than that, I see nothing wrong with smoking up with a trusted buddy and posting it on YouTube. It can be rather funny to watch a high person, and such videos are a service for anyone thinking of trying the drug.
Posted at: March 28, 2008 12:19 AM