OHIO HOUSE VOTES TO BAN PSYCHOACTIVE HERB SALVIA DIVINORUM

Columbus- Ohio House lawmakers voted unanimously Tuesday to ban a
psychoactive herb that can take smokers on a mind-bending psychedelic
ride akin to LSD.

Ohio is poised to become the sixth state to ban the plant - known as
Salvia divinorum - putting the substance on par with marijuana as a
drug that is illegal to purchase, possess or sell in any quantity. To
become law, the measure needs to be approved by the Senate and signed
by Gov. Ted Strickland.

Rep. Thom Collier, Republican of Mount Vernon, who sponsored the bill,
called the obscure Mexican herb in the mint family "one of the most
potent, naturally occurring psychoactive compounds."

The active ingredient in the plant - salvinorin A - is widely regarded
by biochemists as one of the strongest natural hallucinogens known to
man, but is not considered addictive.

"It is truly a mind-altering herb," Collier said.

The lawmaker said he was prompted to act by the death of a 12-year-old
Loudonville boy, who was killed by a friend who had smoked the herb.
Although it isn't clear whether the friend was on the drug when he
shot and killed the 12-year-old, Collier said the bill will put Ohio
"on the cutting edge of ensuring the safety of its young people."

Small packages of the herb - sold under the name Holy Smoke - could be
found last year at a Lorain Avenue pipe store in Cleveland and are
available on the Internet with varying degrees of potency. The dried
leaves can be smoked or chewed.

The plant, used for centuries in ceremonies by medicine men of the
Mazatec Indian tribe in Mexico, produces potent and intense
hallucinations in which users report feeling separated from their body
and as if they are entering another reality. The effects are said to
last for less than an hour, a much shorter duration than synthetic
hallucinogens such as LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide).