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June 14, 2008

Salvia gets classified as banned substance

By Tom Blakey

Drug agents are applauding a new law outlawing a drug that has grown in popularity over the last several years.

Salvia divinorum, also known as Salvia or Sally D, is now a schedule I banned substance, officials announced last week.

"The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics is a vigilant watchdog when it comes to new substances which may harm our citizens and most importantly our children and young people," said OBNDD Director?R. Darrell Weaver. "There is nothing good that comes from Salvia and we will fight tirelessly to control such unwanted substances in Oklahoma."

Weaver said the OBNDD worked with Rep. David Derby, R-Owasso, and Sen. Jonathan Nichols, R-Norman, to enact House Bill 3148. Gov. Brad Henry signed the measure into law June 2.

OBNDD spokesman Mark Woodward said smoking Salvia creates powerful hallucinations which cause users to become incoherent or unconscious for several minutes. The drug has been popularized by a growing collection of videos on the YouTube Web site, he said.

"The trend is for teens and young adults to smoke Salvia and have a friend video-tape their experience. It is very disturbing to watch these kids go through what they, themselves, describe as a frightening, out of control episode," Woodward said.

The leafy drug from the inconspicuous mint family packs a hallucinogenic punch that rivals any on the illegal market -- from LSD to mushrooms, officials said. Salvia had been offered for sale at local head shops and is readily available on the Internet.

It is now a crime to use, sell, or even possess the drug in Oklahoma -- one of about 10 states in the nation to outlaw it. OBNDD and the Drug Enforcement Administration are alerting wholesalers, distributors and citizens that possession of Salvia divinorum in Oklahoma is now a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Distribution carries a penalty of five years to life in prison.

The new law shouldn't alarm Oklahomans who have Salvia variety flowers in their garden, officials said. The form of Salvia now banned is a particular strain of the species that is grown in southern Mexico.

Tom Blakey 366-3540 tblakey@normantranscript.com

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