Legal Status of Salvia Divinorum - Opinions and Arguments

Opinions and Arguments

Concerns expressed by some politicians on the subject of Salvia echo those of the media. In November 2006, the morning after a story by news channel KSL was aired in Utah, warning its viewers about what it called "this dangerous herb", Utah State Representative Paul Ray (R) submitted a bill calling for its Schedule I classification in that state. KSL TV cameras were on Capitol Hill to see the paperwork filed, with KSL reporting - "Moments after our story ended, Utah Representative Paul Ray began writing a bill to ban Salvia." As he presented the bill Ray said - "It was upsetting to see we have a drug of that strength that's legal." and "We're basically going to make it illegal to possess or sell. Period." Ray's action was further supported by the news channel in a subsequent KSL editorial. Viewer feedback was unanimously more critical.

Georgia State Senator John Bulloch (R) reportedly saw a report on an Atlanta television news station about the increased use of Salvia divinorum. He was quoted as saying - "I thought, 'Why hasn't somebody already jumped on this?" before filing Senate Bill 295. "I hurriedly got legislative counsel to draft the bill...Everything that I read about it is it's considered to be a hallucinogenic drug...A lot of the reading that I've found on it says that it gives a quicker and more intense high than LSD." Senator Don Thomas (R) was reported as saying -"I just know about the publicity of the dangers of it, and the use of it, so my first impression is to ban anything of that nature."

In February 2007, the day after a Fox TV local news story on Salvia had aired in Milwaukee, Wisconsin state lawmaker Sheldon Wasserman (D), also a licensed physician, who had never heard of it before, spoke to Fox news in a follow-up report about then wanting to make it a Schedule I controlled substance.

Comparisons to LSD and particular focus on "protecting our children" are also echoed by politicians. In June 2007 the Wisconsin State Journal newspaper ran a front page headline cover story about Salvia, reporting that Representative Wasserman had recently begun seeking sponsors for a bill that would ban the manufacture and sale of Salvia divinorum for consumption in Wisconsin. Dr. Wasserman was reported as saying - "This bill is all about protecting our children" and "I want to stop the Salvia divinorum dealers who are pushing young people to experiment with a potentially dangerous substance."

In connection with his proposals to make Salvia divinorum and salvinorin A Schedule I controlled substances in Oregon, Representative John Lim (R) was quoted as saying - "From what I understand this drug is at least as dangerous as marijuana or LSD", and Seth Hatmaker, a spokesman for Lim - "I think it's only a matter of time before we find people addicted to this stuff".

In the state of Illinois, in support of his bill for Schedule I classification of Salvia divinorum, Representative Dennis Reboletti (R) wrote in his own website that Salvia is a "powerful psychoactive plant which in appearance looks like marijuana but has the psychoactive properties of LSD." and "It's important that we in the legislature are proactive in protecting our children from highly addictive substances" "For a drug to be classified as a Schedule 1 substance signifies that it's a highly dangerous and potentially lethal drug for its user. Hopefully, the passage of my bill will bring attention to "Magic Mint" and help law enforcement combat the future rise of this drug."

Other references and sources indicate however that Salvia divinorum does not look like marijuana. Its psychoactive properties are not like those of LSD, and that Salvia divinorum is not generally understood to be either addictive or toxic.

Concerns about driving while under the influence of Salvia have also been expressed. Delaware State Senator Karen Peterson (D), who introduced Schedule I classification of Salvia divinorum in Delaware, said - "I, for one, don't want to be driving down Route 1 next to someone who is having an out-of-body experience" and "I thought this is not something that I would want people using driving around the streets of Delaware."

There has not been any evidence to suggest that Salvia use is problematic. Some "arguments" against Salvia have been of a preventative or imitative nature. North Dakota State Senator Randy Christmann (R) stated - "we need to stop this before it gets to be a huge problem not after it gets to be a huge problem" and New Jersey Assemblyman Jack Conners (D) argued -"Salvia divinorum use may not be a runway epidemic, but it's certainly is a phenomenon that warrants attention. We should take preventive steps now to prevent wholesale problems later on" In October 2005 MP John Mann raised an ultimately unsuccessful Early Day Motion calling for Salvia divinorum to be banned in the UK, saying - "The Australians have clearly found a problem with it. There's obviously a risk in people taking it."

The National Institute on Money in State Politics indicates the major sources of campaign contributions for US politicians. For example, Oregon State Representative John Lim's largest individual campaign sponsor in 2006 was the Oregon Beer & Wine Distributors Association. Lim argued for Schedule I classification of Salvia in Oregon. Senator Karen Peterson's second largest group campaign donations in 2006 came from 'Beer, Wine & Liquor' industries. Peterson introduced Schedule I classification of Salvia divinorum in Delaware. Tennessee State Senator Tim Burchett (R) sponsored Salvia legislation in Tennessee. In 2006 his second largest individual campaign donation came from the Tennessee Malt Beverage Association. In the same period alcohol and tobacco related contributions amounted to the fourth largest industry contributions for Representative Paul Ray in Utah. Alcohol related contributions also featured highly for Representative Dennis Reboletti in Illinois - 'Beer, Wine & Liquor' was his seventh highest industry contributor.

Opponents of more prohibitive measures against Salvia argue that such reactions are largely due to an inherent prejudice and a particular cultural bias rather than any actual balance of evidence, pointing out inconsistencies in attitudes toward other more toxic and addictive drugs such as alcohol and nicotine. The worldwide number of alcohol-related deaths is calculated at over 2,000 people per day, in the US the number is over 300 deaths per day. While not objecting to some form of legal control, in particular with regard to the sale to minors or sale of enhanced high-strength extracts, most Salvia proponents otherwise argue against stricter legislation.

Those advocating consideration of Salvia divinorum's potential for beneficial use in a modern context argue that more could be learned from Mazatec culture, where Salvia is not really associated with notions of drug taking at all and it is rather considered as a spiritual sacrament. In light of this it is argued that Salvia divinorum could be better understood more positively as an entheogen rather than pejoratively as a hallucinogen. Other entheogenic plants with continuing traditions principally of spiritual use include peyote (and other psychoactive cacti), iboga, virola, ayahuasca (an admixture of plants containing DMT + MAOI), and various types of psychoactive fungi. In fact, US legislation as it stands specifically allows two of these to be used in a spiritual context. The Native American Church is allowed to use peyote and Uniao do Vegetal (or UDV) is permitted ayahuasca. Although not consistently granted (varying from state to state), the principal grounds for such concessions are constitutional, with further grounds following from the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.