LAWMAKERS MAY BAN HALLUCINOGENIC SALVIA

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's Boardwalk shops.

State legislators held hearings last week to review the bill, which
was sponsored by Delegate Adelaide C. Eckardt, R-37B-Wicomico,
Delegate Jeannie Haddaway, R-37B-Wicomico, and Sen. Richard Colbourn,
R-37-Wicomico. 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 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, including wild laughter, paranoia and feelings of being
"outside time."

Five states, including Virginia and Delaware, have banned salvia.
Another 13 states have laws prohibiting its sale or possession, as do
more than a dozen othercountries.

"It's considered by most scientist 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 Colbourn that salvia was available without
restriction at several Boardwalk retailers.

Colbourn 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," Colbourn 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."

Colbourn also 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. Robery 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.

"Something has to be done about it. A child can buy it, somebody with
a depression problems. Anybody can buy it. You never know what you're
getting, there's no standards. It's onset is immediate and dramatic.

"I think that it 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," Bokinsky said.

Opposition to bill

The bill has opposition from the Drug Policy Alliance. According to
the group's Web site, salvia should not be outlawed because of its
low potential for abuse and its significant medical potential,
calling such measures an "unwarranted extension of the U.S. war on
drugs."

Naomi Long, director of the group's Washington, D.C. 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 pre-teens 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."