Amazon Selling Drugs Online; Website Selling Bongs And Legal Hallucinogens Despite Protests

Amazon is selling more than books and movies. The popular website is now facing controversy for selling drugs online. However, it's completely legal for Amazon to do this because they are only selling drug paraphernalia such as bongs, in addition to selling legal drugs and hallucinogens such as Salvia. Nitrous oxide and poppers, which can be similarly lethal, are on sale as well.

But packets of 'pure salvia extract' are sold on Amazon Marketplace by a firm called John Strong Supplies, which boasts of providing "the purest extracts at the best prices in the UK" and cites Press articles describing the psychoactive herb as 'more powerful than LSD, and legal'.

Drug experts warn salvia can trigger psychotic episodes, hallucinations and distortion of time, particularly in young people and those with mental health problems. It was linked to the death of Ryan Santanna, a 21-year-old film student who fell from a balcony in New York after smoking it in 2011.

"There is the danger with hallucinogenic drugs that people can injure themselves because they are seeing something that isn't there," said Harry Shapiro of the charity DrugScope. "There is the very odd case of people who believe they can fly. And, of course, people can just get scared by whatever it is that they see."

Maryon Stewart, whose daughter Hester died after taking the drug GBL, wrote to Amazon last month, asking it to withdraw the products along with drug pipes, bongs and scales.

'It is utterly irresponsible that Amazon is selling this stuff and tantamount to an endorsement," said Stewart. "Amazon is a trusted brand and if it is selling something, it is likely to mislead young people into believing it's safe. We all know these products are not safe and people taking them are playing Russian roulette with their lives and mental wellbeing."

Amazon has yet to publicly respond to the protests.

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