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Texas lawmaker pushes to criminalize hallucinogenic drug salvia

By chillinwill · Aug 17, 2008 · 3.8K · 29
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  1. chillinwill
    From: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/081508dnmetsalvia.48b2ee8e.html

    MESQUITE — A Republican lawmaker from Waco is driving a campaign to criminalize salvia, an herb that can be bought legally but used as a powerful hallucinogenic drug.



    "Parents are totally oblivious to what is going on," Rep. Charles "Doc" Anderson said Thursday at a public hearing about the drug.



    Mr. Anderson introduced a bill during the 2007 legislative session to criminalize the drug, but it failed to get out of committee. When the Legislature meets again in January, he plans to introduce a new bill that would at least make it a misdemeanor to possess the drug.



    At the meeting he passed around a colorful 20 milligram package of "Purple Sticky salvia" that sells for $20.99.



    "It looks pretty innocuous," Mr. Anderson said. "You think it's a benign product."



    Legal in most other states, salvia is available for purchase in at least a half dozen locations in the Dallas area, according to local retailers.



    Smoked like marijuana or chewed like tobacco, salvia’s hallucinogenic effects begin within seconds and typically last up to a few hours, said Kurt Kleinschmidt, chief of toxicology at UT Southwestern Medical Center.



    Dr. Kleinschmidt said the drug is gram for gram less potent than LSD, but it is one of the most powerful natural hallucinogens.


    Youtube and MySpace are peppered with videos of teens and young adults on salvia trips, but Dallas area health officials say they haven’t seen many people seeking treatment for salvia usage.



    "It's just something that we haven't captured yet in our triage. We have not had any clients admitted who are on salvia," said Cynthia Blackfox, an official at the Nexus Recovery Center in Dallas. "It will be something that we're looking for."



    Mr. Anderson learned about the drug from Michael Campbell, a pastor at Silver Maple Chapel in Robinson who testified at Thursday’s hearing.
    Last year, Mr. Campbell’s 17-year-old foster daughter disappeared one night. She showed up in the morning and was clearly stoned, he said. He learned about the drug from her friends.



    "Soon as I found out it was legal I was stunned and amazed that kids could get access to something that powerful," Mr. Campbell said.



    Matt Simpson, a policy strategist with the American Civil Liberties Union, told the committee that he objected to criminalizing the drug, suggesting that it would popularize it as "a forbidden fruit.”



    "At some point you just have to arm our kids with the ability to say ‘no,’" Mr. Simpson said.

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  1. Panthers007
    Sounds like "Doc" and Kurt need an education in chemistry, toxicology, and medical pharmacology. To bad people are stupid and will likely blindly follow these idiots into the Twilight Zone.

    Nuts.

    "Give up your rights! For God & Country! Remember 911!"
    Panthers007, Aug 17, 2008
  2. Orchid_Suspiria
    I suspect before long we are going to have a long list of these type of threads but with different states.
    Orchid_Suspiria, Aug 17, 2008
  3. drug-bot
    just one more point that these experts are dumb as fuck, smoked salvia lasts about 5- 10 minutes at an active experience (with a 20 minute come down), chewed (quid method) salvia lasts 45–60 minutes, which produces a much milder experience than smoked.

    its sad when drug users can know and find out more info than these so caled 'experts'.
    drug-bot, Aug 17, 2008
  4. thepieman1
    Then she was clearly SMOKING MARIJUANA!
    thepieman1, Aug 17, 2008
  5. Beeker
    SWIM did it, didn't think it was anything 'fun.' It would never make a black market drug. I don't even know how they could police this. Unless they are just talking about banning stores from selling it. Last I checked the only thing head shops had was Salvia packages with dust on them and Nitrous.

    I hate to say I care less, because I really don't care if they banned this stuff along with Datura. Yet, something in me just doesn't like seeing something outlawed just because of the old ass line "Think of the children!"
    Beeker, Aug 17, 2008
  6. Lobsang
    Sounds like "Pastor Cambell's" daughter was "stoned" on something illegal and when given the third degree said "But Dad...I't legal...It's Salvia"..
    Lobsang, Aug 18, 2008
  7. Rhin
    Kids can get LSD to it's not hard for them to find anything they want including PCP and Heroine. What an idiot.
    Rhin, Aug 18, 2008
  8. Nature Boy
    How fitting this guy is from Waco. Take their mind food and allow the good folks to form another suicide cult instead. Fantastic.
    Nature Boy, Aug 18, 2008
  9. SwiftFox
    It wont become federally illegal, because it does not have addictive properties and has no harmful affect to human consumption.
    SwiftFox, Aug 19, 2008
  10. cra$h
    they'll find something. They don't need a legitimate excuse to ban something. Just look at marijuana. Don't be sure about anything when it comes to government.
    cra$h, Aug 19, 2008
  11. Lobsang


    Actually this is not true at all. I understand why you believe it. Because it is how the law reads. But mescaline, mushrooms and LSD are all non addictive and relatively safe and they are illegal.
    Lobsang, Aug 19, 2008
  12. thepieman1
    Looks like the individual states will get there first anyway...

    What's it like for salvia in the states that have banned it?

    My guess is no-one would bother with selling it but if you can get hold of a plant then you would be all right because its fairly discreet to grow.
    thepieman1, Aug 20, 2008
  13. cra$h
    looks like a generic weed. you could hand me a plant and it would take some thought to go, oh yea, salvia. plus to prove it's salvia would probably be too much for law enforcement to bother with. But if you got a dime bag filled with some shake, then you'd get caught.
    cra$h, Aug 21, 2008
  14. Stephenwolf
    at LEAST this drug is being illegalized legally, a state choice, Federal Drug Law is Illegal... but states saying something is illegal is totally constitutional, though i'm dissapointed that this substance is being banned i'm glad its being done the right way, Drug Law is a States Issue because the constitution doesn't mention it, and as EVERYONE knows: Anything not specifically mentioned in the constitution is SUPPOSED to be left to the states.
    Stephenwolf, Aug 21, 2008
  15. Lobsang
    Oh no...You just do not understand. It will be banned in time in every state due to it going schedule 1. It is following the same exact course as GBL did. The process just takes time. GBL was banned in a few states before it went to schedule 1. Salvia will go schedule 1 and BAM...It will be illegal in all states with horrific criminal penalties.
    Lobsang, Aug 21, 2008
  16. SwiftFox
    SwiftFox, Aug 21, 2008
  17. Stephenwolf
    dude, way too late for a Ron Paul vote, he officially Dropped out of the running a month or 2 ago, as can be read about HERE http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/07/AR2008030703061.html ... besides Mike Gravel was a better choice...had an idea for a sort of People Branch for the government where joe-voter could vote on laws as directly as congress... it was called the National Initiative...more info is here http://www.mikegravel.us/national_initiative sadly he too is no longer running....

    about the Sally-D i realize that it'll probably be nationally illegalized soon...but if it were to stay on an only state by state illegalization it'd at least follow the constitution...i'd be LESS upset about it because it'd at least be legal in a constitutional sence... other drug law is technically unconstitutional and shouldn't be able to be enforced at all..
    Stephenwolf, Aug 21, 2008
  18. SwiftFox
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    SwiftFox, Aug 21, 2008
  19. Stephenwolf
    sorry this threads taken a turn toward the political..but even though Gravel isn't running anylonger people CAN still vote the National Initiative into play.... also Glad to here Ron Paul hasn't quit.... really everything SwiftFox and myself has said is now in the way wrong thread...

    Its Crap that salvia keeps getting banned in places...hopefully it doesn't actually happen in texas... i also really hope that never spreads to Idaho... isn't there too much research potential for medicine in salvinorin A for them to so quickly dismiss it as the devil?? like that drug Herkinorin that has tons of potential medicinally if they work with it some more... its absurd how governing bodies seem to think having fun is a crime...if it makes you feel good it should be hard to get...

    thats why medicines get moved to schedules if they cause euphoria...its all very fucked up.

    IF any control at all should be had against chemicals and plants it should be Harm based ... Personally I disagree with ANY control other than Regulation to ensure CLEAN product...

    Plant based chemicals should no matter what be legal because Outlawing Nature is UNNATURAL no matter how you look at it.
    Stephenwolf, Aug 21, 2008
  20. SwiftFox
    If only the ingredient could be found in some of our main food sources. Then it would be considered a supplement and could not be scheduled.

    Sorry about my rant. I just found this out. I am now really excited about the presidential election again...
    SwiftFox, Aug 21, 2008
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