Pa. could join list of states restricting Salvia

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By Mandy Hofmockel
Collegian Staff Writer

A number of states are working to restrict the use of what is currently a legal hallucinogen, and proposed legislation could add Pennsylvania to the list.
Eight states have restricted the use of Salvia divinorum, and 16 have considered a ban, according to The Associated Press.
State House Rep. Karen Beyer, R-Lehigh/Northampton, introduced last year one of three bills that would restrict the substance, according to www.legis.state.pa.us.
Dragon Chasers Emporium, 115 S. Fraser St., sells the substance in an incense form, said manager Abby Cain. Prices range between $20 and $100 depending upon the different types, Cain added.
"It's something that we get requests for, so we carry it," she said.
Beyer said salvia is not well known but that it could become a greater problem if more concentrated forms are developed.
The bill is still under the Judiciary Committee in the state House, she said.
"We're hoping to have it out relatively soon," Beyer added.
If the bill is not signed into law by November, it would need to be reintroduced next year, Beyer said.
The bill's goal would be to make salvia and other substances illegal in Pennsylvania, she said.
"Any form of or related to salvia would be banned," Beyer said.
Bernie Kieklak, chief of staff for Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton, said another proposed bill to make salvia illegal has not moved from the Judiciary Committee to which it was referred nearly a year ago.
The suicide of a teenager who used the substance near Boscola's district prompted Boscola to draft this legislation, Kieklak said.
Kieklak said the Internet is one way to obtain salvia.
"It's like having access to a drug dealer 24/7," he said.
According to a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Web page, Salvia divinorium could also be known as Salvia, Sally-D, Magic Mint, Diviner's Sage, Sage of Seers and Maria Pastora.
According to the DEA Web site, salvia's effects alter perceptions of bright lights, vivid colors and shapes. Other effects include dysphoria, uncontrolled laughter, a sense of loss of body, overlapping realities and hallucinations. Adverse physical effects may include loss of coordination, dizziness and slurred speech, according to the site.
Jay Bundy, co-president of Penn State's chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and former University Park Undergraduate Association presidential candidate, said he believes access to salvia is beneficial.
Bundy said from his experience using salvia, the effects were short-lived.
"It only lasts about half a minute," he said.
He said the proposed legislature is "well-intentioned" because it works for an "abuse-free society" but that such a goal could be seen as unrealistic.
"Overall advice for students is to stay away from drugs, period," said Diana Ramos, community health educator with health promotion and wellness in University Health Services.
Ramos said her department has not seen reports from Judicial Affairs or Residence Life about students' salvia use.
Currently, there are not concerns over increased salvia use, but if concerns developed, action would be taken, Ramos said.

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive..._states_r.aspx

Looks like stocking up on some salvia might be in swim's near future.