LAWMAKERS MOVE TO BAN HALLUCINOGENIC HERB

Salvia Found In Boardwalk Shops Last Summer

ANNAPOLIS -- State lawmakers reviewed a bill that would outlaw salvia
divinorum, a powerful hallucinogenic herb that hit new heights of
popularity last summer at Ocean City Boardwalk shops.

State legislators held hearings Tuesday to review the bill, which was
sponsored by Delegates Adelaide C. Eckardt R-37B-Dorchester, and Jeannie
Haddaway R-37B-Talbot and Sen. Richard Colburn, R-37-Dorchester. The draft
legislation would place salvia on Maryland's list of Schedule I drugs,
making it illegal to possess or sell, as well as eliminating possible
medical research.

A relative of the mint family, salvia's properties were discovered after
researchers found central Mexican Indians using it to take so-called
spiritual journeys. Its popularity has boomed since the late 1990s. Today,
salvia is typically sold as dried leaves of varying potency. When smoked,
it can cause a variety of hallucinogenic effects.

Five states, including Virginia and Delaware, have banned salvia. Another
13 states have laws prohibiting its sale or possession.

"It's considered by most scientists to be more potent than LSD, and it's
readily accessible to anyone in the state of Maryland who wants to
purchase it," Haddaway said. "All around us, states are restricting it or
banning it, and in Maryland you can still get it. Young people who may not
have ever tried drugs before can legally purchase this and not realize how
potent this is or what the effect is going to be."

Haddaway said members of the Worcester County Commissioners brought the
issue to her and Colburn that salvia was available without restriction at
several Boardwalk retailers.

Colburn noted the hundreds of thousands of videos posted on the Web site
YouTube showing people under salvia's influence.

"It's nothing short of disturbing," Colburn said at the hearing. "Watch it
for yourselves. See how they lose all coordination, experience emotional
swings, dizziness and nausea. Now, imagine that person is your child or
grandchild."

Colburn said it's possible the bill could be amended to regulate salvia,
rather than ban it outright, depending out how the bill escapes from
committees.

Ocean City Police Capt. Robert Bokinsky also testified during the
hearings. He said it's not unusual to find salvia not only on the
Boardwalk but during traffic stops. Officers may know what is, but because
it's not illegal to possess, "at that point we're hamstrung and there's
nothing we can do about it," he said. "I think that would be irresponsible
if law enforcement didn't say something and speak up about this. We're the
ones who have to deal with it."

The bill has opposition from the Drug Policy Alliance, which calls it an
"unwarranted extension of the U.S. war on drugs."

Naomi Long, director of the group's Washington metro area branch, urged
legislators to reject the proposal, calling salvia's medical value "very
promising" for treating health issues from depression and eating disorders
to HIV infections. She also warned that if criminalized, salvia could be
driven underground.

Long said "the most effective approach" would combine age controls with
restrictions on who could sell it, and where it gets placed in a store.
She said lawmakers should model salvia regulations after tobacco laws,
which, along with education campaigns, she said led to a dramatic drop in
cigarette use among preteens since 1999.

"We didn't have to criminalize tobacco or create long prison sentences for
cigarettes to achieve these amazing results," she said. "The decrease was
due to quality, comprehensive education at all grade levels about the
health consequences of smoking and strict laws about sales to minors. This
approach is working for tobacco."