Defining Salvinorin A

I am writing about a concern I had when reading the April 11 article titled "New hallucinogen finding its way into neighborhoods." I am a biology professor and have a biochemistry background. Having read many concerned online columns about the plant Salvia divinorum, I felt your column, while slightly biased, was better researched than most.

I wanted to point out a very glaring error. You wrote, "Salvia and opiate drugs, such as morphine, activate the same receptors in the brain that cause dependence, addiction and visionary effects." The previous statement is just not factual. Salvinorin A bonds to the kappa opioid receptor in the brain. Morphine, on the other hand, bonds to the mu opioid receptor.

Chemicals bonding to the kappa opioid receptor, such a salvinorin A, cause dysphoria, whereas chemicals bonding to the mu opioid receptor, such as morphine, cause euphoria. The mu opioid receptor is the site of euphoria which leads to "dependence" and "addiction." The fact that the term "opioid" occurs in the name of each receptor is a moot point.

Salvinorin A is the antithesis of morphine. An inference that salvinorin A would cause dependence and addiction with your sole evidence being a similarity in the receptor name would be analogous to myself thinking your publication, the Camarillo Acorn, would be a place to purchase oak trees.

Bradley Ratliff
Moorpark