HALLUCINOGEN IS LEGAL; THAT MAY CHANGE

Salvia: State Senate Bill Would Put It on Controlled Substance List.

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
(http://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
one-half-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 the drug 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."