Pubdate: Thu, 27 Mar 2008 Source: Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA) Copyright: 2008 The Press-Enterprise Company Contact: http://www.pe.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/830 Author: Sean Nealon, The Press-Enterprise Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hallucinogens.htm (Hallucinogens) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/salvia (Salvia divinorum) EFFORT ON TO RESTRICT 'MAGIC MINT' SALVIA FROM MINORS Salvia divinorum is getting a lot of attention. One researcher found 5 percent of college students use the legal hallucinogenic herb and began studying hundreds of videos on YouTube showing users taking it. Scientists tout it as a possible remedy for depression and bipolar disorder and one is planning the first study of its effects on humans. Lawmakers, including Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia, are introducing bills to make its use illegal for some. The Adams bill would bar sales of salvia divinorum, commonly known as salvia, to minors. He introduced the bill in January at the urging of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. It cleared the Assembly by a 76-0 vote in January. The state Senate is expected to consider it in late April. If the bill is approved and signed by the governor, who hasn't taken a position on it, California would join at least eight states and eight countries that have restricted salvia divinorum or its active component, salvinorin A. They include Louisiana, Illinois, Australia and Spain. About a dozen more states, including New York and Texas, are considering similar laws. Scientists say salvia divinorum is nearly as potent as LSD. Politicians, law enforcement groups and others who support restrictions say they want to act before the drug becomes more popular and leads to a tragedy. "If you have the opportunity to get in front of an emerging drug, I think, geez, you should do that," said Adams, whose district includes San Bernardino and Redlands. Some scientists who study pharmaceutical drugs don't oppose Adams' bill but fear it could lead to laws further restricting sales of salvia divinorum, making drug research more difficult. They believe compounds derived from the plant's active ingredient could fight ailments such as depression and bipolar disorder. California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, an organization of more than 2,000 criminal defense lawyers, opposes the bill because the group says it criminalizes behavior without sufficient scientific evidence, such as whether the drug is addictive or harmful to the body. The group advocates public education about the drug. How It Works Salvia divinorum is an herb with white and purple flowers in the mint family native to the Sierra Mazateca region of Oaxaca, Mexico. That's the only place it's known to grow in the wild, said Daniel Siebert, a medical botanist who lives in Malibu and has studied and used salvia divinorum since 1991. He maintains a Web site with more than 100 scientific articles about salvia divinorum, including about a dozen he wrote. The Mazatec Indians chewed the plant's leaves to heal medical conditions or cure bad luck, Siebert said. Salvia divinorum is the only one of about 1,000 salvia species, including some sold at nurseries, known to have hallucinogenic effects, he said. Salvia divinorum wasn't available online or at drug paraphernalia shops until the mid-to late 1990s, when researchers discovered its leaves could be dried and still produce a hallucinogenic effect, Siebert said. The drug, also known by street names such as "Maria Pastora" and "Sally-D," is either chewed or smoked, said Siebert, who has taken it about 100 times. When chewed, it takes 15 to 20 minutes to take effect and the experience lasts 90 minutes before tapering off for another 90 minutes, he said. When smoked, the effects begin after 20 to 30 seconds and last about five to six minutes before tapering off for 20 to 30 minutes, he said. The effect changes depending on the dosage, Siebert said. People often use a low dose as a meditation aid, he said. With a higher dose, users report seeing vivid colors and entering a dream-like state, he said. Selling and Controlling Siebert sells salvia divinorum on his Web site. He doesn't sell to minors because they are more likely to use the drug carelessly or recklessly, he said. However, he said realizes it's impossible to completely stop minors from buying online. He supports Adams' bill and believes salvia divinorum should be sold with regulations similar to alcohol and tobacco. He is critical of online vendors that market salvia divinorum as a youth drug and a substitute for marijuana. Some vendors warn buyers to stock up before the drug is outlawed in the United States. His buyers must click on a list of safety guidelines that state the drug should be used in a safe, secure and private environment with a sober sitter. The guidelines also include a line that states the user takes responsibility for using the product and will not hold Siebert liable for any mishap that may result from use. Chuck Long, manager of Vishions Smoke Shop in Temecula, also supports Adams' bill. He said it wouldn't impact business. He doesn't sell salvia divinorum to minors because minors are not allowed in the store. Store employees warn buyers not to drive after using salvia divinorum and to take it in a secure area with a friend who is not using and can monitor them, Long said. They do this to protect the customers, many of whom are first-time users, who might not know much about salvia divinorum, he said. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has received reports about salvia divinorum that indicate there could be problems, said Rogene Waite, an agency spokeswoman. She declined to comment further because the agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are studying whether to restrict the drug. Some states, including Delaware and Missouri, have put salvia divinorum in the same category as heroin and LSD. Adams' original bill, introduced in February 2007, would have done the same. It didn't make it out of committee. Officials with the counties of Riverside and San Bernardino sheriff's departments said they are aware of salvia divinorum, but that it isn't a major problem. San Bernardino County sheriff's Lt. Jerry Davis first spotted salvia divinorum at a Yucaipa "head shop" in 2006. He decided to research the drug and talk to some users. "A gal said she had gotten into a fight with a set of mini-blinds," Davis said. "People were talking about a burrito on a table growing legs and teeth and trying to attack them like a dog." He compiled his findings and gave them to the department's legislative liaison, Lt. Barbara Ferguson. She gave them to Adams. Research With Salvia A San Diego State University survey is one of the first to show how prevalent salvia divinorum is. It found that 4.4 percent of about 1,500 undergraduate students at an unidentified large public university in Southern California reported using salvia divinorum during the 2006-07 school year, said James Lange, the university's coordinator of alcohol and drug initiatives. That number is less than those who used ecstasy (5 percent) and cocaine (7.1 percent) and more than those who used methamphetamine (1.2 percent) or heroin (0.3 percent). Lange wants to do a national survey of college students to see if salvia divinorum use is more common in certain regions and determine if use is lower in states that have banned the drug. He is also using YouTube videos of salvia divinorum users for a study describing the systematic affects the drug has on the body. Lange and other researchers believe it is sensible to regulate the sale of salvia divinorum to minors. However, they fear it could lead to further restrictions that could hurt research efforts because researchers would need to get permits to study the drug. John Mendelson, a senior scientist at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute in San Francisco, has studied salvia divinorum for four years. He expects to conduct the first study of salvia divinorum on humans in the next couple of months to find out how much of the drug is needed to produce an effect. He said many scientists believe the drug has "real promise," particularly with treating mania, a disease often associated with bipolar disorder that causes people to talk fast and do dangerous things. "What's disappointing is there's this knee-jerk to make this illegal," Mendelson said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom