It’s cheap It’s local It’s legal

By ASHLEY LUTHERN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

MOMENTUM IS BUILDING IN THE EFFORT TO regulate a cheap Mexican sage that produces mind-altering effects.

At one time cocaine, Ecstasy and heroin were legal in the United States, but eventually each was added to the government’s list of controlled substances. Now, there’s a push to regulate the herb Salvia divinorum.

Salvia is a legal substance that resembles everyday sage, but the effects of smoking it are far more powerful than the household herb.

Hallucinations, vivid flashbacks and loss of muscle control have all been described as effects of salvia, said Rogene Waite, spokesperson at the Drug Enforcement Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“I’ll be the first to say it’s not the safest thing,” said Tony Marino, owner of A.R.M. Cigar Co., a Boardman store that carries the herb.

Salvia is usually smoked using a pipe, but can also be rolled or brewed like tea. The plant is native to Mexico and the leaves are usually dried into flakes, unless it is being chewed.

“For years, we’ve been getting reports on salvia, but it didn’t seem to be a terrible problem before the Internet,” Waite said. “Now it’s in the [federal] scheduling process.”

Many Internet sites, including eBay, make it possible to purchase salvia, extracts of salvia and its hallucinogenic oil, salvinorin A, with a few clicks of a mouse. But online providers are not the only places people can buy it.

Local stores, like A.R.M. Cigar, also carry the herb for as low as $25.

Marino ordered salvia for a customer who requested it and has carried the product since. He said that salvia brings in a younger clientele to his store.

“Usually the people that buy it are between the ages of 18 and 23, and in my [cigar] business most of my customers are between 35 and 70 years old,” Marino said. “Lately, I’ve seen more and more people come specifically for salvia.”

Marino said that he warns people of the effects when they buy it and advises them not to drive a car after smoking it.

“It affects each person differently, but for those who are used to harder stuff like crack and heroin, it won’t do much,” he said.

Marino emphasized that he would stop selling it, if it winds up on the controlled substance list. He said he has never tried salvia.

“I think it’s all going to be done by 2010, and then there won’t be business for it,” he said.

His timetable for salvia regulation in Ohio might be accurate.

In April, a bill passed unanimously through the Ohio House that would classify salvia in Schedule 1 of controlled substances, grouping it with drugs such as heroin, LSD and hashish.

The bill is now in the state Senate and assigned to the judiciary criminal justice committee. If passed in a form that both houses of the Legislature agree on, which would probably take at least a year, it would go to the governor to be signed into law.

In California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill July 22 that will forbid the sale or distribution of salvia to minors beginning Jan. 1, 2009. California is the 11th state to apply restrictions on use of the drug. Ten states have already added salvia to their controlled substance list: Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Delaware, North Dakota, Illinois, Kansas, Virginia and Florida. In Maine, possession of salvia by minors is illegal, similar to tobacco laws.

While Marino said that his business for salvia is increasing, local law enforcement has seen little of the drug.

“I’ve only seen it once. It’s not prevalent here, and it’s not illegal,” said Sgt. Michael Huthes, a narcotics specialist with Boardman police.

At Youngstown State University, salvia is not common.

“We haven’t seen it on campus, and we’re not pursuing investigations of substances that aren’t illegal,” said Sgt. Randy Williams of YSU police and the Youngstown Drug Task Force.

Because of the mind-altering power of salvia, people who use it can still be arrested for things such as disorderly conduct, he said.

The same technique can be applied to someone who drives while smoking salvia.

“We can still arrest someone, for example, with acting like intoxicated and they can be charged,” said Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Chris Heverly. “If they were driving under the influence of something, even if it’s technically legal, they can still be arrested for erratically changing lanes or disrupting traffic.”

Doug Wentz, an educator at the Neil Kennedy Recovery Center in Austintown, records information on local patterns of drug use.

“[Salvia] is not prevalent in our area,” he said. “Most people are struggling with cocaine, heroin, marijuana or alcohol.”

Even though salvia is uncommon, Wentz said that the danger it presents should not be underestimated.

“Any sort of hallucinogen isn’t safe,” he said. “If it alters people’s minds, they could put themselves and others at risk.”