Um Salvia is also legal in 44 states in the US, and there are tons of other iffy drugs like that.
Salvia is not a money maker to be frank, there is little need or use in black marketing it OR taxing it.
My impressions, by reading about that drug, is that it something SO UNPLEASANT potentially, that no one really voluntarily tries it more than once. I mean, it's it's OWN drug advertisement, when you talk to some former Salvia users, many may tell you TERRIFYING things. Like, no I don't want to experience living a WHOLE second lifetime in like 5-10 minutes that SOUNDS AWFUL.
The only drug I can think of that is universally worse in terms of "trippy effects" might be nutmeg, and that is also legal in the US but literally SO AWFUL well, I have only met ONE nutmeg user who had what one might term a "good time." It's only really dumb teens that try it, and try it I DID for like this ONE field trip.. I will say, being 100% CONVINCED that it would do NOTHING at all, well, I kind of overdosed on the cookies, I was like "I'm really going to have to LOAD up," I mean....
My experience was like a sharp and intense desire for death for like 3 days and it was not Cool (especially trying to pretend to the grownups I was fine.) When I finally "felt better" well, I celebrated by going and drinking out of a keg in some cornfield but frankly after my experience WELL I needed to celebrate and with something good and familiar like the Spirit of Fermentation.
If I ever saw a kid with a handful of nutmeg cookies, I would probably try to barter with them for their sake, like, "I will buy you robotussin or even take you mushroom hunting etc." if only for a sincere desire for THEIR sake that they not have to experience the nutmeg twist on reality.
I feel lucky too, I knew one guy who SMOKED nutmeg and he hallucinated for 2 weeks.
Not to detract from your South Africa experience, but there are drugs that just don't need to be made illegal …. anywhere.
Anna