CREATING CRIMINALS

As an adult who occasionally finds salvia divinorum interesting, I'd
like to point out that state Sen. Bill Purcell's ham-fisted proposal
to make this non-addictive plant a Schedule 1 drug akin to heroin
(news story, Feb. 17) is both absurdly wrongheaded and an insult to
all thinking citizens.

If the problem is idiot teenagers misusing a substance, then the
solution is already on the books and in use for alcohol: make that
substance illegal for people under 21.

There is no evidence whatsoever that salvia is a social problem when
used by adults, and it's disgusting that people like Purcell believe
they have a right to insert themselves into citizens' personal choices
about their own consciousness when there's no compelling reason to do
so. Instead of following the herd and succumbing to peer pressure,
North Carolina has a chance to be a leader on this issue.

A total ban on salvia will do nothing but turn a group of good
citizens into criminals for no reason. If anything needs to be done at
all -- and that's certainly questionable -- a ban for those under 21
is the proper compromise.

Todd Morman

Raleigh