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Newsday.com
Lawmakers seek to ban plant called a hallucinogen
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BY REID J. EPSTEIN
March 6, 2008
Perfectly legal to sell and use, salvia divinorum is a mystery to most adults but, according to legislators and others seeking to ban it, a danger youths know too well.
At a public hearing Tuesday, Suffolk Legis. Lynne Nowick (R-St. James) played videos she'd found on the Internet of teenagers ostensibly stoned from salvia, a plant native to Mexico. She called the effects "dangerous" and called for the county to ban the plant.
Representatives from the Smithtown Central School District, Suffolk Police and local anti-drug groups implored legislators to outlaw salvia because, they said, people believe it is safe because it is legal.
"It has a chemical hallucination so powerful that the person using it may have an amnestic episode," said Krista Whitman of the Quality Consortium of Suffolk County, which represents drug treatment centers.
But Brian Del Rey, who runs Club 13, a Florida company that sells salvia online and to retailers on Long Island, said the plant is neither addictive nor harmful.
"It's a meditational aid," he said. "It's an existential process, it's not for everybody."
The worst that can happen, he said, is "people seem to giggle a lot."
Eight states and 15 countries have banned salvia, said Daniel Siebert, who runs the Salvia Divinorum Research and Information Center from his Malibu, Calif., home. New York's state Senate has passed bills to ban salvia four straight years, though companion legislation never made it out of the Assembly.
"I look at this as a gateway drug," said state Sen. John Flanagan (R-Northport), who sponsored the bill that would impose a $500 fine for anyone who sold salvia. Nowick's measure would make possessing or selling salvia a misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine.
Assemb. Daniel O'Donnell (D-Manhattan), who sponsored the Assembly bill to outlaw salvia, said the plant has no proven medicinal use.
At the Gotham Smoke Shop in Huntington Station, a small purple container of "Purple Sticky Salvia" sells for $25. Though a clerk initially said salvia is best smoked, the store manager then told a reporter it is only to be burned as incense. Neither would give their names.
Del Rey's company used to sell salvia to the Utopia shops in Hicksville and Centereach. Utopia's owner, Mark Levine, said he pulled the stuff from his shelves two years ago after a woman called him to complain that her son swallowed salvia leaves.
Levine said he sold salvia as an incense to customers interested in Wicca, a type of witchcraft with nature-oriented practices derived from pre-Christian religions. But in recent years, he said, salvia became more popular with young people he believed were misusing it. Still, he said efforts to ban salvia only serve to make it more popular.
"Once they're reading up on it and finding out the legislature is trying to outlaw it, that immediately increases the lure," Levine said.
Del Rey said there is little reason for local lawmakers to ban salvia, since it can easily be purchased online.
"To ban it, to take away people's pursuit of happiness, is an error," he said. "If they want to get a hold of it, they will."
Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.
Is Salvia the Next Marijuana?
By JESSICA GRESKO – March 11, 2008
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — On Web sites touting the mind-blowing powers of Salvia divinorum, come-ons to buy the hallucinogenic herb are accompanied by warnings: "Time is running out!" and "stock up while you still can."
That's because salvia is being targeted by lawmakers concerned that the inexpensive and easy-to-obtain plant could become the next marijuana. Eight states have already placed restrictions on salvia, and 16 others, including Florida, are considering a ban or have previously.
"As soon as we make one drug illegal, kids start looking around for other drugs they can buy legally. This is just the next one," said Florida state Rep. Mary Brandenburg, who has introduced a bill to make possession of salvia a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Some say legislators are overreacting to a minor problem, but no one disputes that the plant impairs judgment and the ability to drive.
Native to Mexico and still grown there, Salvia divinorum is generally smoked but can also be chewed or made into a tea and drunk.
Called nicknames like Sally-D, Magic Mint and Diviner's Sage, salvia is a hallucinogen that gives users an out-of-body sense of traveling through time and space or merging with inanimate objects. Unlike hallucinogens like LSD or PCP, however, salvia's effects last for a shorter time, generally up to an hour.
It is not the same as the ornamental garden plant known as Salvia.
No known deaths have been attributed to salvia's use, but it was listed as a factor in one Delaware teen's suicide two years ago.
"Parents, I would say, are pretty clueless," said Jonathan Appel, an assistant professor of psychology and criminal justice at Tiffin University in Ohio who has studied the emergence of the substance. "It's much more powerful than marijuana."
Salvia's short-lasting effects and fact that it is currently legal may make it seem more appealing to teens, lawmakers say. In the Delaware suicide, the boy's mother told reporters that salvia made his mood darker but he justified its use by citing its legality. According to reports, the autopsy found no traces of the drug in his system, but the medical examiner listed it as a contributing cause.
Mike Strain, Louisiana's Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner and former legislator, helped his state in 2005 become the first to make salvia illegal, along with a number of other plants. He said the response has been largely positive.
"I got some hostile e-mails from people who sold these products," Strain said. "You don't make everybody happy when you outlaw drugs. You save one child and it's worth it."
An ounce of salvia leaves sells for around $30 on the Internet. A liquid extract from the plant, salvinorin A, is also sold in various strengths labeled "5x" through "60x." A gram of the 5x strength, about the weight of a plastic pen cap, is about $12 while 60x strength is around $65. And in some cases the extract comes in flavors including apple, strawberry and spearmint.
Web sites such as Salviadragon.com tout the product with images like a waterfall and rainbow and include testimonials like "It might sound far fetched, but I experience immortality."
Among those who believe the commotion over the drug is overblown is Rick Doblin of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a nonprofit group that does research on psychedelic drugs and whose goal is to develop psychedelics and marijuana into prescription medication.
"I think the move to criminalize is a misguided response to a very minimal problem," Doblin said.
Doblin said salvia isn't "a party drug," "tastes terrible" and is "not going to be extremely popular." He disputes the fact teens are its main users and says older users are more likely.
"It's a minor drug in the world of psychedelics," he said.
Moreover, it's hard to say how widespread the use of salvia is. National and state surveys on drug use don't include salvia, and because it is legal in most states, law enforcement officials don't compile statistics, either.
San Diego State University last year surveyed more than 1,500 students and found that 4 percent of participants reported using salvia in the past year.
Brandenburg's bill would make salvia and its extract controlled substances in the same class as marijuana and LSD.
Florida state Sen. Evelyn Lynn, whose committee planned to study the Salvia bill Tuesday, said the drug should be criminalized.
"I'd rather be at the front edge of preventing the dangers of the drug than waiting until we are the 40th or more," she said.
Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Minn. lawmaker part of wave to ban hallucinogenic plant
The Associated Press - Tuesday, March 11, 2008
ST. PAUL
A Minnesota lawmaker wants to ban an inexpensive and easily obtainable hallucinogenic plant that some fear could be the next marijuana.
State Representative Joe Atkins has introduced a bill that would ban Salvia (SAL'-vee-uh) divinorum in the state, although the bill may be modified during the session.
Atkins joins lawmakers in Florida and more than a dozen other states in moving against the spread of the hallucinogen that's native to Mexico.
The plant can be smoked, chewed, or made into a tea. Its effects last for a shorter time than other hallucinogens like LSD or PCP.
The drug sells for about $8 per pound, and can be purchased over the Internet or from local producers. It is not the same as the ornamental garden plant known as Salvia.
No deaths have been attributed to its use, but it was listed as a factor in a Delaware teen's suicide two years ago.
Eight states have already placed restrictions on the plant.
Salvia's herbal high spurs push for ban
Posted on Wed, Mar. 12, 2008
BY SUZANNE HOYLE AND ALEXANDER HARRIS
It's a type of mint plant, with broad leaves and a hollow stem, widely used by landscapers and gardeners as ground cover. It's also sold on the Internet for about $15 an ounce for leaves, $11 for the more potent extract, to be smoked or chewed for a high lasting a few minutes to a half-hour.
Thousands of videos on YouTube.com show bong-smoking teenagers ''tripping'' on the drug.
Called salvia divinorum, it has been banned in Australia, Belgium and Italy but was completely legal in the United States until recently. Now, state legislators from Florida to Missouri to California are pushing to outlaw or regulate an herb that has found another life as a popular recreational drug.
Florida state Sen. Evelyn Lynn, an Ormond Beach Republican whose committee Tuesday unanimously passed an anti-salvia bill, said the drug should be criminalized.
''I'd rather be at the front edge of preventing the dangers of the drug than waiting until we are the 40th or more,'' she said.
Florida state Rep. Mary Brandenburg, a West Palm Beach Democrat, also has introduced a bill to make possession of salvia a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
''As soon as we make one drug illegal, kids start looking around for other drugs they can buy legally. This is just the next one,'' Brandenburg said. Her bill would make salvia and its extract controlled substances in the same class as marijuana and LSD.
Eight states have already placed restrictions on salvia, and 16 others are considering a ban or have previously.
Some say legislators are overreacting to a minor problem, but no one disputes that the plant impairs judgment and the ability to drive.
Native to Mexico and still grown there, Salvia divinorum is generally smoked but can also be chewed or made into a tea and drunk.
NICKNAMES
Called nicknames like Sally-D, Magic Mint and Diviner's Sage, salvia has proliferated on the Internet and at college-area paraphernalia shops.
It is usually sold as dried leaves in various degrees of potency. Salvia causes hallucinations, a perception of overlapping realities and a loss of body, dizziness and impaired speech, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says on its website.
Unlike hallucinogens like LSD or PCP, however, salvia's effects last for a shorter time, generally up to an hour.
Since 2005, Missouri, Delaware, North Dakota and Illinois have banned salvia outright by classifying it as a Schedule I hallucinogen, putting it in the same category as heroin, LSD, marijuana and ecstasy.
According the DEA, Schedule I substances are defined as having a high tendency for abuse and do not have a medicinal purpose. Possession of a Schedule I substance (except for marijuana) is often classified as a felony. For example, under the Illinois law that took effect Jan. 1, possession of salvia is punishable by up to three years in prison.
Virginia's governor this week signed a similar bill into law, and it takes effect July 1. Virginia state Del. John O'Bannon, the Republican who sponsored a bill and a neurologist, said salvia potentially has harmful effects. He cited the 2006 death of Brett Chidester, a Delaware teenager whose parents blame salvia for their son's suicide.
''It's really not a pleasant thing to take. It can cause bad trips, dysphoria and sweats,'' O'Bannon said. Dysphoria is a general feeling of physical discomfort, anxiety and discontent.
Other states have taken action to regulate salvia in different ways.
In Maine, for example, it's illegal for anyone under 18 to possess or use the drug. In Oklahoma, it is illegal to have salvia if it is ''enhanced, concentrated or chemically or physically altered'' -- a law aimed at potent salvia extracts. In Tennessee and Louisiana, it is legal to grow salvia for landscaping or aesthetic purposes, but not for consumption.
FEDERAL STUDY
Rogene Waite, a DEA spokeswoman, said the agency is studying whether salvia should be declared a Schedule I drug at the federal level. If so, it would be considered a controlled substance in every state, she said.
Also, sending it by mail would then be prohibited.
Daniel Siebert, of the Salvia Divinorum Research and Information Center, a website Siebert maintains out of Malibu, Calif., said he has devoted 20 years to studying the plant. He said that salvia shouldn't be available to minors, but that responsible adults should be allowed to use it.
''Plants are part of the natural world that we are born into,'' Siebert said. To ban salvia ``seems to me to be some sort of crime against nature.''
Siebert sells salvia on his website. He said he has few repeat customers, because most people don't enjoy the experience of using salvia. Even those who do are not inclined to use salvia often, he said. ''It's kind of troublesome having these kids video-taping themselves and putting it on YouTube,'' Siebert said. ``It creates a skewed image of salvia.''
Siebert says he sells to people in states that ban salvia because California law does not prevent him from doing so. But he said he informs customers in such states of the legal risk they take by possessing or using salvia.
Some Internet retailers won't send salvia to customers in states and countries that ban the substance. For example, one seller on eBay has posted a notice that reads, ``I do not ship to the following states in the USA: DELAWARE, ILLINOIS, LOUISIANA, MISSOURI, NORTH DAKOTA and TENNESSEE.''
It's unclear how many states will seek to ban or regulate salvia. Matthew Gever, a policy associate for the National Conference of State Legislatures, said legislators may be more concerned about drugs with higher visibility, such as methamphetamines. ''There are a lot of states where legislators have brought it [salvia] up,'' he said. ``Someone introduces it, but it doesn't go anywhere. It's so far off the radar.''
Miami Herald staff writer Mary Ellen Klas contributed to this report, which was supplemented with material from The Associated Press.
Growing Salvia in the garden
March 11, 2008
Jessica Damiano
You know that beautiful Salvia plant you had growing in your garden last summer? The fragrant, purple one? It's gaining a heck of a reputation. Lawmakers in Florida and elsewhere are hip to the fact that teenagers -- among others, I'm sure -- have discovered the hallucinogenic properties of its cousin, Salvia divinorum. And you know what they say about judging a man by his friends.
I can't imagine how kids stumbled upon this, but Salvia divinorum can produce an hour-long high more potent than marijuana's when smoked, eaten or brewed into a tea. And it's currently legal, which means it can be easily obtained by anyone, unlike Sudafed or Claritin-D, for which I have to produce a driver's license and sign my name to a federal government log in order to purchase at CVS.
Online, an ounce of Salvia leaves can be had for $30; liquid extract sells for $12-$70, depending on the size of the bottle and its potency. Long-term health effects aren't clear, but its use was cited in a 17-year-old Delaware boy's suicide in 2006.
The plant, native to Mexico, has been used for centuries in indigenous healing rituals. Now, lawmakers in eight states have put restrictions on it, and Florida is considering making it illegal.
It sounds ridiculous to outlaw a plant, but the dilemma is a big one: People get the impression that whatever is legal is safe. Kids especially. And therein lies the problem: It's dangerous.
The plants in our herb and perennial gardens are guilty only by association, as there haven't been any hallucinogenic properties or abuses reported about them.
• Salvia officinalis, also known as sage, is a fixture in many suburban gardens. The perennial prefers full sun but can tolerate light shade.
• Salvia elegans, or Pineapple sage, is a tender perennial, which means it's grown as an annual here on Long Island. It, too, prefers full sun, and its pineapple-scented leaves and flowers are edible.
• Salvia officinalis 'Berggarten', Berggarten sage, is a sun-loving perennial.
• Salvia officinalis 'Nana', Dwarf sage, is a perennial that prefers full sun.
They all make an eye-catching, deliciously scented addition to the herb or perennial garden.
You can't smoke them, but why would you want to?
Fla. Lawmakers Move To Ban Hallucinogenic Herb
POSTED: 5:30 pm EDT March 11, 2008
UPDATED: 5:31 am EDT March 12, 2008
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. --
It's being called the new marijuana.....
It's inexpensive and easy to get. Now, some Florida lawmakers want to make it illegal in Florida.
Salvia divinorum is a hallucinogenic herb generally smoked but can also be chewed or made into a tea and drank.
It's all over the Internet. YouTube.com shows smokers under the influence of the herb.
Indians in central Mexico have smoked it for generations. It's not illegal in Florida or most states and it's available for purchase online.
"You don't want 16-year-old kids driving around smoking that stuff," Steve Jenette said. "You know, just like regular marijuana. When I was in high school, I had five friends of mine killed from drinking and driving or smoking and driving."
Florida state Sen. Evelyn Lynn said the drug should be criminalized. Her committee plans to study the Salvia divinorum bill on Tuesday.
Smokers say the high lasts for about an hour and there are out of body experiences, loss of motor coordination, loss of consciousness and uncontrollable laughter.
"Salvia is a hallucinogenic," Rachel Morales said. "It creeps you out and it just makes you hallucinate. What it does is it just doesn't balance your brain, so when you're on it, it's like if you were to be on acid or something. So, you trip out for a while."
Officials said there were no statistics of how widespread the use is because in most states the herb is not illegal.
South Fl. News Channel 6.... Salvia News Video... March 14th, 2008
Old herb, new drug
Police and parents are looking for ways to combat the growing popularity of salvia, a 'powerful psychoactive plant'
March 16, 2008
By KIM SMITH Sun-times news group
A Northern Illinois teenager is undergoing treatments after experimenting with a so-called "safe" natural substance known as salvia divinorium.
It took about two weeks for his dilated pupils to return to normal after smoking the crushed leaves of the plant. Several weeks have passed and he still complains of dizziness and not feeling quite like he used to.
Yet, a lot of people have not heard of this herb that has been described as "a powerful psychoactive plant" that looks like marijuana but is thought to have the psychoactive properties of LSD.
Salvia was only deemed illegal in Illinois as of Jan. 1. Until then, it was readily sold at local tobacco shops. It is still available in neighboring states as well as on the Internet.
"It is here and in the hands of our young people," said Det. Sgt. Jeff Wold of the Channahon Police Department. "Average users range from 14-year-olds up to 21-year-olds."
Signs of drug use
The parents of the young man know their son would not have experimented with the drug on his own. He started showing all the signs connected with drug experimentation last fall.
"He started hanging with different friends," his mom said. "He quit eating dinner with us and we have always been the type of family that had dinner together."
The names of the teen and his parents are being withheld on the advice of his doctors and counselors.
The teen was active in track and wrestling and started running slower as opposed to gaining speed as the season progressed.
"I started finding cigarette lighters in his pants and in his book bag," the mother said. "He said other kids were dropping them in by mistake. Our house used to be the house where the kids would hang out. That also stopped suddenly."
The parents decided to have him drug tested. The tests came back negative. Salvia passes through the body quickly and does not show up on drug screens.
The teen started going to school all day but would not come home afterward. His parents would rely on telephone calls from other students to learn of his whereabouts. In January, the problems got worse when he would disappear for two or three days at a time.
"I would put out fliers and offer rewards and kids would talk and we would find him in a couple of hours," his mother said. "My husband and I started researching stuff that would not show up on a drug screen."
Salvia via the Internet
The Urban Dictionary calls salvia divinorium a rare enthogenic plant from Oaxaco, Mexico. The dictionary describes the high as hard to explain since it can have the power to take you out of this dimension and into another one. It has been used for centuries by the native Mazatecas for medicinal purposes and to induce visions.
It is also a member of the mint family as well as a cousin to common sage.
"There are legal plants called salvia that are growing in some gardens," the mother said. "This one is different even though it is said to be easy to grow."
Experts say parents of teens who suddenly show an interest in plant growing should investigate.
Teens could have stashed some away when it was still legal to purchase.
"My son says when he did it when it was legal," the mother said. "I do believe the kids are being lured into this via the Internet."
The parents of Brett Chidester, a 17-year-old Delaware student who committed suicide in January of 2006, blame saliva use on his death. He reportedly purchased salvia from a Canadian-based Internet company about four months prior to taking his own life. The straight-A high school senior was convinced smoking salvia leaves was safe and that he had gained incredible insights into the universe while tripping on the stuff.
Jocelyn Boudreau, a staff education coordinator and licensed clinical social worker with Rosecrance Substance Abuse Treatment Centers, said parents should be concerned.
"All kids have to do is cross state lines to find salvia," Boudreau said. "It is legal in many places and is reported to have medicinal purposes. It is attractive to adolescents because it gives an intense high that is hallucinogenic in nature."
While smoking the leaves is the preferred choice for salvia trippers, some buy the extract and put it in hot tea. It also can be chewed.
Hazards still unknown
A lot is not known on the hazards of salvia. Like most drugs, it can only take one or two times to become addicted. Users seem to be involved in secretive behaviors.
Salvinorim A, also known as divinorin A, is believed to be the ingredient responsible for the hallucinogenic effects, according to the National Drug Intelligence Center's Web site. The chemical is found primarily in the leaves and to a lesser extent in the stems.
When chewed, the leaf mass and juice are maintained in the cheek area. Effects appear in five to 10 minutes.
Smoking pure salvinorin A, at a dose of 200 to 500 milligrams, results in effects within 30 seconds and can last about 30 minutes.
The teen's mother said it is important to spread the word of this danger to young people.
"God has given us this cross to bear and we intend to bear it out loud," she said. "We need to let people know that hiding this problem is not the answer. This stuff is here and is harming our children."
Prescriptions: Growing drug choice among teens
By ANDREA VanVALKENBURG
Staff Writer
March 16, 2008
SARANAC -- Local teachers, principals, law-enforcement officials and attorneys have noticed an alarming trend among area teens in recent years.
In the past, marijuana was typically the drug of choice for teens.
Now it's something they can find in almost every medicine cabinet, something that's easy to obtain and harder to detect -- prescription drugs.
From painkillers and other depressants to mood-altering stimulants, more teens are now popping pills and officials are warning parents to be aware of the potential dangers of the shift in temptations.
According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, every day 2,500 kids between the ages of 12 and 17 try a painkiller for the first time.
Saranac Central High School Principal Jon Parks said many students use prescription medications believing they're safer than illegal drugs.
"As a result, students who may not be tempted to use a street drug may use a (prescription drug)," he told a small audience of parents during a recent panel discussion at Saranac Middle School.
A DEA special agent, who requested that his name not be published, said most often teens are getting pills from their homes, but said they can also obtain them through Internet pharmacies and "doctor shopping," where a patient sees multiple physicians in order to obtain several prescriptions.
He said the trend is dangerous because it easily leads to medication dependence and increased tolerance. It can also lead to seizures, paranoia, overdoses and death.
At Saranac Central, if a student is suspected of using any substance -- whether it's marijuana, prescriptions, inhalants or alcohol -- they're sent to the nurse's office for an impromptu "sobriety check."
Saranac High School Nurse Beth Besaw said she checks the student's pulse, behavior, skin and eye color, odor, reflexes, balance and motor skills to see if they're under the influence.
If so, school penalties, like five days of out-of-school suspension, and possible criminal consequences will follow, as will a referral to voluntary counseling with a trained specialist from Champlain Valley Family Center. The Family Center visits the school every week, said Aimee Defayette, the high-school assistant principal.
Clinton County Assistant District Attorney Tim Blatchley said criminal charges can not only leave students facing jail, and possibly prison time, but can also disqualify them from receiving federal financial aid for college.
He said having pills without a prescription and giving them away, even without the exchange of money, can result in criminal charges for anyone over the age of 16.
The district's resource officer, Trooper Sue Ewing, said parents should also be aware of rising use of salvia, a leafy, green plant that's legal to purchase at several area locations.
Alabama senators mull ban on hallucinogenic herb
Tuesday, Mar 18, 2008 - 12:00 AM Updated: 10:44 AM
By Donathan Prater
Opelika-Auburn News
OPELIKA — A pair of Alabama senators have a little ‘sage’ advice for the state’s legislature concerning a relatively new player on the drug scene. Make it illegal.
If State Sens. Hank Erwin, R-Montevallo, and Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, have their way, a type of plant called salvia divinorum, a powerful, psychoactive herb, will be classified as an illegal drug and carry with it the same penalties as marijuana.
“But this drug is much stronger than marijuana from what I understand,” said Bedford. “Police are catching kids with this drug but aren’t able to do anything because this stuff isn’t illegal.
“It’s another classic case of the law having to catch up with the drug trade,” Bedford said. “Who would have thought Sudafed would be a key ingredient in Methamphetamine that we’d have to keep behind the counter, but we passed a law that done exactly that.”
Salvia is known by more popular nicknames such as “Sally-D” and “Ska Pastora.”
Salvia divinorum extracts can be purchased online in extracts of 5x, 10x, 15x and 20x (the higher the number, the greater the strength of the extract).
“The plant is native to the Mexican state of Oaxaca and, like most salvias, should grow best in the full sun in reasonably dry and hot conditions,” said Gary J. Keever, professor with Auburn University’s Department of Horticulture. “Information indicates that the plant has been used in the past by the Mazatec Indians of Oaxaca as an aid in ritual divination.”
Salvia is classified in the mint family of plants. Some of the first live specimens of Salvia were cultivated in the early 1960s, Keever said.
“Some experts believe this plant may be the intentional or unintentional genetic cross between two different species because the plant exhibits low seed viability,” said J. Raymond Kessler, associate professor with the AU Department of Horticulture.
Whatever its composition, Bedford thinks the potential for abuse of the herb is high.
Some lobbyists for salvia are trying to have the herb in the mint family age-regulated, meaning that it wouldn’t be criminal to possess the herb if you were old enough.
Bedford says a bill is out of committee in the state Senate and hopes to see it passed before the legislative session ends this May.
“I don’t think Alabama has any place for this drug in its society,” Bedford said.
Just Like Marijuana, Except Less Fun and Much Less Popular
Jacob Sullum | March 18, 2008, 4:02pm
In a recent story about state legislation banning the Mexican psychedelic herb Salvia divinorum, the Associated Press reports that lawmakers are "concerned that the inexpensive and easy-to-obtain plant could become the next marijuana." The lead to a different version of the story says "state lawmakers [in Florida] are considering a ban on what is being called the new marijuana."
By whom? Presumably not by the Hit & Run commenter who called salvia "THE WORST substance of this Earth," adding, "If you want kids to stay off of drugs, give them some Salvia and tell them this is what cannabis, hash, and LSD are all like—but worse." He is not alone in his low opinion of the plant. Erowid, which provides information on a wide variety of psychoactive substances for an audience that is more Leary than leery, notes that "its effects are considered unpleasant by many people."
A.P. cites a 2006 survey finding that "just under 2 percent of people age 18 to 25...reported using salvia in the past year." By comparison, about 28 percent of 18-to-25-year-olds admit smoking marijuana in the previous year, and I'd wager a lot more of them wanted to do it again than was the case for salvia smokers. Rick Doblin of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies tells A.P. salvia use represents "a minimal problem," notes that "it's not a party drug," and suggests that it's "not going to be extremely popular."
No drug as powerful and unpredictable as salvia will ever be "the new marijuana," even though the government is giving it a boost by banning competing products. "As soon as we make one drug illegal," Florida state Rep. Mary Brandenburg tells A.P., "kids start looking around for other drugs they can buy legally. This is just the next one." She worries that the government is pushing people toward less desirable, possibly more dangerous drugs by banning the ones they plainly prefer and suggests it should give up its vain quest to eliminate every possible intoxicant. Just kidding. Brandenburg "has introduced a bill to make possession of salvia a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Ban sought on on newly popular, and legal, hallucinogenic drug
Lawmakers seek ban on newly popular, and legal, hallucinogenic drug
By Andrew Lightman
The Patriot Ledger
Posted Mar 22, 2008 @ 01:42 PM
Last update Mar 22, 2008 @ 01:47 PM
HANOVER —
In the video, the teenager lights up a bong and inhales the smoke. Seconds later, his eyes glaze over.
His friends laugh and talk to him, but he doesn’t really answer. He sits across from them, but essentially he’s not even there.
Nor is he breaking the law.
Almost everywhere in America, the drug taken by the teen, known as Salvia divinorum, is legal, cheap, even available on eBay.
Salvia divinorum, a green leafy plant native to the mountains of southern Mexico, has hallucinogenic properties that, according to the National Institute of Health, can cause short but intense delusional episodes.
Now, a bill is making its way through the Legislature to make the plant illegal in Massachusetts.
The proposal gained approval from the Legislature’s Committee on Public Health on Tuesday, and it could be put to a vote by lawmakers later this year.
Salvia divinorum is not the salvia that gardeners know, typically seen in garden centers throughout New England.
Teenagers are documenting Salvia highs on video and posting them on YouTube by the thousands. The videos have been watched more than a million times.
With every view, Salvia’s popularity can only rise, said state Rep. Vinny deMacedo, R-Plymouth, who has sponsored the bill to make the sale or possession of Salvia a crime. The bill would also ban Khat and Kratom, two other legal drugs that are readily available online.
From YouTube, deMacedo said an experimenting adolescent is just a click away from ordering the drug on eBay.
“Everyone who has seen the YouTube videos agrees, this is a dangerous substance,” deMacedo said. “To me, leaving it legal, we’re sending a message that it is OK.”
Eight states have banned or restricted the sale of Salvia divinorum, while several more, including Massachusetts, will consider regulations in the coming year.
However, while its long-term health effects have not been studied, its short-term use has raised some concerns.
The drug was listed as one contributing factor in the suicide of a Delaware teen, though according to published reports, the autopsy showed no traces of Salvia in his system.
Locally, hospitals have had no reports of overdose or adverse affects from its use.
South Shore Hospital has not treated any emergency room patients suffering from an adverse use of Salvia, said Dr. John Benanti, chief of the emergency department.
In fact, until this week, Salvia divinorum was unknown to Benanti and his medical staff.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health also has no record of anyone seeking medical treatment for use of Salvia, said spokeswoman Donna Rheaume.
“Alcohol and marijuana continue to be the drug of choice for adolescents,” she said.
But there is some evidence the drug is finding its way to Massachusetts.
Within the past year, two or three patients have reported using Salvia in combination with other drugs, said Dr. John Knight, the director of the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research at Children’s Hospital in Boston.
A year ago, Knight said none of his patients reported using it.
Salvia is appealing to some, he said, because doctors cannot detect it with current drug tests.
“It’s new, which I think is part of the appeal,” Knight said. “People don’t know what it is, so there is a feeling that they won’t get caught.”
It is also easy to buy.
On March 11, Plymouth County Sheriff Joe McDonald ordered Purple Sticky Brand Salvia and a half-ounce of Kratom on eBay.
They arrived at the Hanover Police Department a week later. The $6 of Kratom was packaged in a plastic sandwich bag and mailed from Springfield, Idaho.
Another 433 Salvia items were up for sale on eBay on Friday, with an ounce of dry leaf listed at $19.99 plus shipping.
If police officers can buy it, Hayes said teenagers on the South Shore certainly have as well.
“In our area, just by the fact that you can get it through eBay and have it sent to your house, we know people are using it,” Hayes said. “If it’s not illegal, it makes it seem more palatable.”
Andrew Lightman may be reached at alightman@ledger.com.