Bad Bills

WHAT ARE THEY SMOKING?

Salvia Madness!

House Bill 2347

Rep. Charles "Doc" Anderson (R-Waco)

Mary J, meet Sally D. Marijuana prohibition has worked so well that
state Rep. Charles "Doc" Anderson wants to criminalize another
smokable plant, Salvia divinorum--aka Sally D, aka Maria Pastora, and
magic mint--a legal hallucinogenic herb sold over the Internet and in
some Texas head shops. Though related, Salvia divinorum isn't the
plant you see growing in yards across Texas.

Prompted by the members of a Waco-area fundamentalist church, Anderson
proposes adding the evil Salvia and its psychoactive ingredient,
salvinorin A, to a long list of illegal hallucinogens. Possession of
just 1 gram of Salvia--about $20 worth of the cheap stuff at Pipes Plus
in Austin--would become a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10
years in jail and a $10,000 fine. By contrast, you can be caught with
50 pounds of marijuana and land the same punishment.

Anderson seems to think teenagers have replaced keg parties with
Salvia tokes. "Let me say that our No. 1 role, at least in my opinion,
is protecting our children, particularly those amongst us that are
most vulnerable," Anderson told the Subcommittee on Enhancements of
the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. "The whole nature of this
drug is untenable and unpredictable, and I think it would be wise if
we followed the five other states that declared it illegal."

Opponents find the legislation a particularly silly expansion of the
War on Drugs.

"There is very low risk of abuse for this drug; there is no risk of
addiction," says Tracey Hayes of the ACLU. "From what we can tell, the
toxicology of [Salvia] is not dangerous. This is more about
criminalizing altered states."

The biggest deterrent to Salvia abuse is apparently the plant itself.
As a trip, users and experts say, Salvia can be about as much fun as
smoking clothesline.

"Salvia divinorum is not a pleasant drug," Hayes says. "Its effects
are short-lived but often extremely uncomfortable. It would surprise
me if teenagers were abusing salvia."

Steve Brudniak, a middle-aged psychedelic enthusiast in Austin,
compared the 5-to-10 minute experience to "the ride at AstroWorld that
makes you dizzy." It's something most people try just once or twice
for kicks. Indigenous people in Oaxaca, Mexico, have used Salvia for
centuries for medicinal purposes, and some American scientists have
flagged the herb's psychoactive ingredient as promising for treating
disorders such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease.

With little else to go on, Salvia-banners have resorted to
exaggeration. Anderson says he worries that Salvia-crazed teens could
run into "sharp objects" or get behind the wheel of a vehicle. He also
claims, without any evidence, that Salvia use "can lead teenagers to
depression and suicide." Michael Campbell, pastor of the church that
petitioned Anderson to carry the legislation, advised lawmakers to
"make a statement now instead of after we have caskets that are piled
up."

With the forces of hysteria sawing away at the Salvia menace, the real
danger is that accurate information parents could communicate to kids
about Salvia and other drugs is spoiled. "Once again legislators are
considering a bill that will make drugs sexy and desirable for
teenagers," Hayes says.

A more sensible bill in the Senate, SB 1796 by Sen. Craig Estes, a
Wichita Falls Republican, would make the sale of Salvia divinorum to
minors a Class C misdemeanor.