CLOCK TICKING ON SALE OF HERB

In '08, State Will Add Type Of Salvia To List Of Banned Substances

Green, leafy and innocuous, salvia divinorum looks like it would be
more interesting to a gardener than a police officer.

But the plant's unique hallucinogenic properties have turned "the
sage of the diviners" into a botanical target caught in a crossfire
between politicians, spiritualists and scientists over whether it's a
drug that should be banned or an herb that should be freely available
for research and personal use.

On Jan. 1, the legality argument will be settled in Illinois, as the
state becomes the latest to list salvia divinorum as a Schedule I
substance, the strictest level of control.

The classification will effectively ban the plant, which was
previously available at tobacco shops, "head shops" and even gas
stations. Possession or sale of salvia divinorum will become a
felony, with legal consequences as severe as those for heroin or LSD.

State Rep. Dennis Reboletti (R-Elmhurst), who drafted the bill
classifying the salvia divinorum as a Schedule I drug, said it was
necessary to regulate the drug tightly in Illinois because it has not
yet been banned by the federal government.

"We decided to move forward rather than waiting for someone to be
killed because of it," Reboletti said.

Salvia divinorum is a powerful natural hallucinogen initially used in
religious ceremonies by Mazatec Indians in the Oaxaca region of
Mexico. In the last 30 to 40 years, it has spread to the U.S. and
other countries, where it can often be bought over the counter or
from Internet sites as leaves or a liquid extract.

The plant's leaves can be smoked or chewed to very different effects.
At higher doses, the drug may produce hallucinations and other
sensory distortions, though the duration of its effects -- about 20
minutes -- is much shorter than usually observed for synthetic
psychedelic drugs such as LSD.

Reboletti said it was dangerous for such a powerful drug to be so
freely available in Illinois, able to be bought by teens and college students.

"It's very likely that you could hurt yourself or hurt others while
in this drug-induced state," he said.

Others say that banning the plant and its derivatives is too harsh,
given its potential for spiritual and medical use. Advocates say
salvia divinorum has erroneously earned a reputation as a
recreational drug thanks to Internet videos and sensationalistic reports.

Crystal Basler, owner of The Country Goddess, a religious-supplies
store in Carbondale, has sold salvia in its leaf or extract form for
about a year. She said that until recently, most buyers of the herb
were middle-age professionals rather than thrill-seeking teenagers.

"Some people describe [the effect] as they get very relaxed, kind of
like taking an anti-stress pill," Basler said. "The leaf is very,
very mild. There's no reason to ever make the leaf illegal. A lot of
women buy it for PMS depression."

Basler said she explains to her customers that salvia is for
spiritual or medicinal use, rather than recreational use,
occasionally to the point of making them watch a British documentary
on the drug before she sells them the product.

"I'm a big fan of [salvia] being regulated," Basler said. "But it
shouldn't be illegal because you're interfering with people's right
to choose in terms of their health care and religious following."

Rick Doblin, director of the Multidisciplinary Association for
Psychedelic Studies, agrees that salvia divinorum produces an
experience that's more introspective than thrilling in nature.

"Only a small percentage of people actually buy it more than once,"
Doblin said. "It's not fun in the way people normally seek out drugs."

Doblin, who himself has tried chewing the plant's leaves, described
the experience as "introspective, curious, weird."

"I really felt like there was this closeness developed between the
stars, the trees and us," Doblin described. "It seemed like the stars
were both light-years away and right there between the leaves of the tree."

Doblin said salvia divinorum is unique among hallucinogens in how it
targets the brain, which could make the plant, or its derivative
chemicals, useful for treating medical conditions such as depression.

He said that although he wasn't aware of any clinical studies on
salvia in process, restrictions could make future research on the
drug "much more difficult."

Reboletti said no local scientists or doctors contacted him when the
bill was being considered by the state legislature but added that he
would not obstruct the use of salvia for research purposes.

"If the University of Illinois were to come to me ... we could
definitely amend the bill if that were the case," he said. "If they
wanted to possess it for research purposes, I wouldn't have an issue
with that."

As for personal use of salvia, the ticking clock of legal sales has
made the herb and its extract a hot item for retailers such as The
Highway, a tobacco store in Chicago.

"People are stocking up because of the ban," said Sebastian
Pogorzelski, co-owner of the store. "They're saying, 'Wow, that's
crazy, I'm going to come in and buy some more.'"

But Pogorzelski said he thinks salvia's popularity will wilt once the
ban goes into effect.

"I doubt anyone's going to go out to another state or anything just
to purchase it," he said.