Lawmakers Target Quick-Hit Hallucinogen

States Crack Down On Fast-Acting, Short-Lasting Herb That's Legal And Easy To Obtain

(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! ... 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 including North Dakota 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.

North Dakota lawmakers last year passed a bill that makes salvia divinorum a schedule I controlled substance, a category that includes such drugs as heroin and marijuana. A person who makes, delivers or possesses a schedule 1 controlled substance is subject to a felony charge.

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.

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 plans 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.

[jsilver2th]

this is a waste of taxpayer money- the stuff borders on being a hoax

[brianbwb-2009]

A far more powerful psychoactive herb is nutmeg. Try to make that illegal also.

It seems that there is a viewpoint that stems from self hate, that motivates people to prohibit "feeling good", promoting the idea of voluntarily suffering to earn "points" with their deity.

They remind me of the scene from "Monty Python''s Holy Grail" film where a group chants "Ia Jesu dominae, dona eis requiem", while beating on their foreheads with a wooden plank.

[brianbwb-2009]

"I am willing to listen to reasonable arguments otherwise." Posted by exCoachKen

I offer this, it is not legalization of salvia that is the problem, as the article states, it already is legal, some arrogant lawmakers wish to make it illegal. Marijuana, despite mountains of research that shows it to be beneficial for a wide variety of illnesses, both physical and mental, is still illegal, as well as just being an over all pleasant pastime, despite several states that voted to decriminalize it.

I posit that illegalization should be handled by popular vote, just as legalization should be. If the people want pot, or salvia, it should not be within the government''s purview to say no.

It is the "conservatives" complain most about a "nanny state", while proposing exactly that, but only in accordance to their own version of what society should or should not allow...

[billtlaw1]

why don''t you outlaw alcohol it is much more deadly

[taylpatr]

Another prohibition that won''t work but will cost an untold amount of our money to pursue! Just what this country needs! If we starve 200 kids to death to save one from smoking this weed, it''s worth it! Somebody needs to get a grip on reality here, and I don''t think it''s the kids smoking this weed.

[downsteamjim]

To crankycoyote: If you think the war on drugs or even Iraq is expensive, look how long, costly, and unsuccessful the war of poverty is.

[revdanbar]

Leave it to the government to take a bad trip (Yes I tried it and it it just not a great high) that lasts for five minutes and trade it for a bad trip that last five years (the proposed prison sentence in Florida for possesion). Prison is so much more dangerous than salvia.

[kaiyo4u]

Posted by gce65 at 07:55 PM : Mar 11, 2008

It is another plant, but then there''s no money in growing something everyone can grow. You have to synthesize it and patent the process to get it legalized by our good ol'' FDA...

Posted by crankycoyote at 06:10 PM : Mar 11, 2008

Absolutely right! Karl Marx said that religion was the poor man''s opiate...

gunownerdan, well said!

[gkc99]

In the bible, God says "I give to you every plant that bears seed".

So where are all the born-again endtimes on this violation of God''s law? Satan-cat got their tongue?

[gkc99]

Comparing salvia to pot is like comparing drinking a beer with sniffing paint thinner.

But really, how is it the government''s business. They should confine themselves to killing Iraqis and stealing their oil.

Truth is, the fascists don''t like the idea that anyone is free, in the US or abroad.