Pubdate: Fri, 01 Feb 2008
Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Copyright: 2008 The Anchorage Daily News
Contact:  http://www.adn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18
Author: James Halpin
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hallucinogens.htm (Hallucinogens)

SALVIA SOON MAY BE AN ILLEGAL DRUG

It's been called the most potent naturally growing  hallucinogen on the 
planet. And it's legal. Salvia  divinorum, a species of sage, isn't banned 
under the  federal Controlled Substances Act, but more than a half  dozen 
states have made the drug illegal through state law. At least 12 more 
states, including Alaska, are  debating whether to do so.

Sen. Gene Therriault, R-North Pole, has been leading  the charge here. 
Therriault said the drug's effects,  which are similar to LSD's, are too 
powerful, dangerous  and unpredictable to leave it unrestricted.

"What I'm trying to do here is be proactive instead of  reactive to the 
newest drug on the scene," he said.

Users often experience effects typical of  hallucinogens, including visual 
distortions,  hallucinations, inability to speak, uncontrollable  laughter 
and out-of-body sensations, according to the federal Drug Enforcement 
Administration. Unlike LSD,  however, Salvia's effects generally last only 
about a  half hour.

"My friend and her boyfriend and I melted into the  wall," says one user, 
describing the experience at the  Web site Salvia.net. "We were just 
objects with no  meaning, being born into the universe at this 
very  instant, emerging from Play-Doh or something. I was  thinking, who is 
she? What are people?"

Salvia, which is listed on a DEA "drugs and chemicals  of concern" list, is 
cheap and easy to find online, and  at least a handful of tobacco stores 
and head shops  sell it in Alaska.

The Black Market downtown is one of several stores in  Anchorage that sell 
Salvia under the brand name Salvia  Zone, starting at $15 for a 1/2 gram 
box - enough for  five uses.

The box, replete with cautions about the drug's use,  touts it as a "tool 
for self discovery and  introspective understanding." The Black Market's 
owner  and manager didn't want to discuss Therriault's bill, but manager 
Jamie Allen said the product is a big  seller at the store, which requires 
customers to be at  least 19 years old.

Reports of problems stemming from the plant's use are  rare to nonexistent 
in Alaska, said Lt. Andy  Greenstreet, deputy commander of the Alaska 
Bureau of  Alcohol and Drug Enforcement.

It's popped up down south, but it hasn't been much of  an issue here yet," 
Greenstreet said. "It's probably  just a matter of time."

Its use while driving is of particular concern, he  said, but driving under 
the influence laws already  encompass all drugs.

Senate Bill 38, introduced last January, remains in the  Finance Committee. 
Therriault said he hopes it will be  addressed this session. Last session, 
a similar bill  never made it to the Senate floor.

The bill didn't progress last time because it got  buried behind 
higher-priority bills that needed to be  heard in Finance, said Miles 
Baker, legislative  assistant to Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, who 
co-chairs  the committee. The bill has not yet been scheduled for  a 
hearing this year, but Therriault said there has been  little vocal opposition.

If passed, the bill would list Salvia divinorum and  Salvinorin A, the 
psychotropic chemical in the plant,  as Schedule IIA controlled substances 
under state law -  the same category as LSD, mescaline, peyote 
and  psilocybin, the active chemical in hallucinogenic  mushrooms.

One problem facing lawmakers is that the drug is  undetectable in humans, 
an issue that's being addressed  at the state crime lab where analyst Jack 
Hurd is  studying Salvia divinorum and working to develop a test  for it.

We're in the initial stage here in Alaska, researching  it," Hurd said. "If 
you're going to say this is against  the law, you've got to make sure the 
active ingredient  isn't in other (plant) species."

There are some indications that Salvia could have  legitimate medical 
applications, and Therriault's bill  allows for an exemption for 
prescriptions, said Dave  Stancliff, a legislative aide to Therriault.

"The jury's still out because there's not been a lot of  study," he said. 
"But whenever there's uncertainty with  a substance of this potency, 
there's a need to prevent  injuries."

The major issue with the drug is its potency and  unpredictable nature - 
having a bad trip is fairly  common, Stancliff said. The DEA reports 
adverse  physical effects include lack of coordination,  dizziness and 
slurred speech.

But some relatively minor side effects should not mean  the drug needs to 
be outlawed, said Jack Degenstein,  with the Alaska Libertarian Party. 
Degenstein opposed  Therriault's bill in a Senate hearing last year.

"This is absolutely not a public safety risk," he said  in an interview 
this week. "It is the most powerful  natural psychedelic, but just because 
it's powerful  doesn't mean it's dangerous."

Many people are turned off by Salvia the first time  they try it because of 
its potency and the  uncomfortable feelings they get, he said.

The drug has been linked to at least one death.

According to news reports, a 17-year-old Delaware boy  killed himself in 
2006 after reportedly smoking the  drug several times over a period of 
months, saying in a  suicide note that the experience had convinced him 
life  was pointless. A medical examiner eventually ruled  Salvia use was a 
contributing factor to his death.

The coroner didn't make that connection until well  after the boy's death, 
however, Degenstein said.

"That was actually quite a controversy because about a  year after the fact 
the coroner changed his death  certificate," he said.

For Degenstein and other opponents of the bill, the  question is one of 
personal freedom and what consenting  adults should be allowed to do in 
their own homes.

Although he doesn't advocate drug use, Jason Dowell,  chairman of the 
Alaska Libertarian Party, said people  should have the freedom to choose, 
especially when the  choice is about a plant that has had 
traditional  medicinal uses in Mexico.

"It's ridiculous that they would try to make plants  illegal," Dowell said. 
"It's just a recipe for  disaster. They're going to send innocent people 
to  prison and invade their privacy."
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