Salvia Watch: Two More States and One City Act Against the Plant, and North Dakota Marks First Bust
As if we don’t have enough substances on the drug prohibition list, the powers that be (which interestingly does not include the DEA, at least not yet) have singularly decided that the herb salvia divinorum needs to be banned.
From the Drug War Chronicle,
Aroused by videos of young people using salvia divinorum on YouTube and spurred on by law enforcement eager not to miss an opportunity, legislators across the country have this year been raising the alarm about the fast- and short-acting hallucinogenic herb, despite the lack of any evidence that its use is harmful. In the latest outbreaks of salvia mania, the South Carolina and Florida Houses have passed a bill to criminalize the plant, a Massachusetts town has banned it, and police in North Dakota—one of a handful of states where it is already illegal—announced their first salvia bust.
Some of you North Dakotans may be pleased (or alarmed) to know that your state is one of the front line leaders in the Drug War.
North Dakota law enforcement had its chance earlier this month, when they arrested a Bismarck man for possessing eight ounces of salvia leaf. (The drug is most commonly ingested by smoking salvia extracts, which are significantly more potent than the leaf.) Kenneth Rau has been charged with salvia possession with intent to deliver in what North Dakota cops believe is the state’s first salvia bust.
Now, they’re looking for more, Lt. Bob Haas of the Bismarck Police told WDAY-TV6 News. “It sure looks like there could be a market, based on the amount he had. This is the first we’ve seen of it.”
Even some towns and cities are getting in on the act.
The most recent is West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, where city selectmen voted to ban the plant this week. Although Massachusetts is among the states considering action against the member of the mint family, the state was not moving fast enough for the West Bridgewater folks.
“What makes Salvia divinorum dangerous is that it has hallucinogenic properties like LSD and it can be purchased on the same Web site where you find Beanie Babies and baseball cards,” Selectman Matthew Albanese said. “I can’t imagine why the Drug Enforcement Agency has Salvia listed as a ‘drug/chemical of concern’ as opposed to a ‘controlled substance,’” Albanese said.
Albanese might have asked the DEA. The Chronicle did three weeks ago, and DEA spokesperson Rogene Waite told us that the agency is following procedure by evaluating eight factors listed in the Controlled Substances Act in determining whether or not to schedule a drug. Unlike Massachusetts selectman or various state legislatures, (this time at least) the DEA seems to actually be waiting for evidence before it acts.
One can only wait and wonder with chagrin what plant will be selected next to banned. Perhaps broccoli which I don’t like anyway. I used to smoke corn silk when I was young so that may be a prospect. Imagining corn on the prohibited list illustrates the folly that the drug war has become.
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