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."