Brett's Law - Case

Case

The law was sponsored by Delaware Senator Karen Peterson, and signed into law three months after the teen's death. It classifies Salvia divinorum as a Delaware Schedule I controlled substance, analogous to Federal Schedule I, making possession, use or consumption of the drug punishable as a class B misdemeanor.

Chidester's parents have argued that the herb played a major role in the teenager's death, and have advocated for "Schedule I"-like legislation beyond their home state of Delaware. In particular, Brett's mother, Kathleen Chidester, has continued campaigning across the United States. For example, three years after Brett's death in written testimony in support of Senator Richard Colburn's proposed Senate Bill 9 to the Maryland State Legislature, saying - "My hope and goal is to have salvia regulated across the U.S. It's my son's legacy and I will not end my fight until this happens."

It was reported on August 3, 2007 that Chidester's parents intended suing 'Ethnosupply'—a Canadian based Internet company that sold Salvia divinorum to Brett some four months before his death. The parents allege that the distributors knew salvia could be dangerous and failed to warn their son. The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive damages for their pain and suffering, lost future earnings, funeral expenses, etc.

There has not been anywhere else, either before or since this controversial incident, any other reported cases involving or alleging Salvia divinorum as a serious factor in suicide, overdose, accidental, or any other kind of death. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual US based survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), for 2006 estimated that about 1.8 million persons aged 12 or older had used Salvia divinorum in their lifetime, of which approximately 750,000 had done so in that year. The following year, 2007, saw the annual figure rise from 750,000 to 1 million US users.