Legal Status of Salvia Divinorum

Legal Status Of Salvia Divinorum

Salvia divinorum, a psychoactive plant, is currently legal in most countries. Current exceptions, countries where there is some form of control, include Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.

In the United Kingdom, following a local newspaper story in October 2005, a parliamentary Early Day Motion was raised calling for Salvia divinorum to be banned there. However, it only received 11 signatures. A second Early Day Motion was raised in October 2008 attracting 18 signatures. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the independent body that advises UK government on drugs, has been asked to investigate further.

In such places where Salvia divinorum legislation exists, it varies in its prohibitive degree from country to country. Australia has imposed its strictest 'Schedule 9' (US Schedule I equivalent or equivalent to class A in the UK) classification for example, and Italy has also placed Salvia in its 'Table I' of controlled substances (also US Schedule I and class A equivalent). - Whereas in Spain there are just controls focusing on the commercial trade of Salvia divinorum, and private cultivation (growing your own plants for non-commercial use) is not targeted.

In the United States, Salvia is not regulated under the Controlled Substances Act but some states, including Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Virginia, and others, have passed their own laws. Several other states have proposed legislation against Salvia, including Alabama, Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Many of these proposals have not made it into law, with motions having failed, stalled or otherwise died, for example at committee review stages.

National legislation for amendment of the Controlled Substances Act to place salvinorin A and Salvia divinorum in Schedule I at the federal level was proposed in 2002 by Representative Joe Baca (D- California). Those opposed to bill HR 5607 include Daniel Siebert, who sent a letter to Congress arguing against the proposed legislation, and the Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics (CCLE), who sent key members of the US Congress a report on Salvia divinorum and its active principle, along with letters from an array of scientists who expressed concern that scheduling Salvia divinorum would negatively impact important research on the plant. The bill did not pass.

Salvia legislation may prove difficult to police. The plant has a nondescript appearance; unlike cannabis the leaves are not distinctive and it does not have a distinctive odour. Salvia divinorum looks like and can be grown as an ordinary houseplant without the need of special equipment such as hydroponics or high-power lights.