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It's available at stores across Long Island. It is a known hallucinogen. And it is totally legalâ??for now. Salvia, a member of the mint family, has, up till now, flown under the radar of law enforcement. But it has just been targeted by the New York State Legislature.
The state Senate last week passed a bill proposed by Sen. John Flanagan (R-Smithtown) to create a fine of $500 for selling Salvia.
"This is an interim measure to raise awareness of the drug and allow law enforcement and science to continue further study before we engage in full criminalization," Flanagan says. A similar bill pending in the state Assembly would make possession of the herb a crime, but one punishable with only a $50 fine.
Narcotics detectives in Nassau and Suffolk counties have little information on the substance, authorities say. A spokesperson for the New York office of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says since Salvia isn't a controlled substance, they're not looking for it. However, no official felt sufficiently knowledgeable about Salvia, short for Salvia divinorum ("Salvia of the seers"), to comment.
Sam Naderi owns Funtazia, a head shop in East Meadow. He says he's been selling the productâ??at $20 to $60 per gramâ??to a growing clientele for about three years.
"I figured sooner or later somebody would make a stink about it," Naderi says.
He hadn't heard of the proposed ban, but hopes the state will give warning if it passes. "I wouldn't put it past them to completely criminalize it, then come down here and fine us," he says. "Hopefully, it won't pass."
Salvia distributors, such as Florida-based Club 13, say the herb is intended to be used for meditation or as incense. Still, there is little information about it, and scientists don't know how it works because they haven't studied it. Novice horticulturists needn't worry, though: The species of Salvia that gets you high is distinct from the flowering plant or culinary garden sage many grow in their yards.
Salvia is indigenous to Mexico and is not a controlled substance, according to the DEA, although the agency does list it as a "drug of concern." The psychoactive ingredient is Salvinorin A. The Food and Drug Administration classifies it as one of its "new drugs," because the agency lacks evidence that it is recognized as safe.
"It is a drug that produces hallucinations similar to those experienced by LSD, and is readily available and legally for sale on the Internet," Flanagan says. Multiple Nassau and Suffolk retailers have Salvia readily in stock. "This drug is rapidly increasing in popularity among recreational drug users, especially among young adults and adolescents," Flanagan says, noting that it appears to be most prevalent on college campuses.
Salvia divinorum is sold at varying intensities, and smoking as little as one-sixth of a gram can cause intoxication, depending on potency and personal tolerance. The herb, which smells like tea and looks like marijuana, has effects that can last from five minutes to as much as three hours, according to Club 13.
The Assembly bill includes information about high doses that reportedly have made users "get up and lunge around the room, falling over furniture, babbling incomprehensible nonsense and knocking their heads into walls." Our tester, however, found that a low dose mostly just induced about two minutes of intense giggling. Fun, but not $50 fun.
Several states unsuccessfully attempted to ban Salvia in the last three years, but the measures failed because the drug is not chemically related to any illegal substances, Club 13 officials say. Missouri does have a law that prohibits sale to minors. Congress failed to pass a nationwide ban on the herb last year, but it has been banned in other countries, such as Australia, Denmark and Italy.
Brian Del Re, president of Club 13, says a ban on the drug "just takes another choice away from Americans in pursuit of liberty."
While Salvia retailers statewide may be concerned about their merchandise being so close to illegal, at least they can enjoy the uptick of sales now that proposals to ban it are putting the herb in the spotlight.
can't let salvia go illegal now!