Alan Rockefeller
12-11-2007, 12:19 AM
State Lawmakers Propose Bill Banning Salvia Plant
December 5, 2007 - channel3000.com
State lawmakers are debating a bill that would add Wisconsin to a handful of states regulating a hallucinogenic Mexican herb.
State Reps. Sheldon Wasserman and David Cullen authored the bill that would prohibit the sale of Salvia divinorum. The Assembly Criminal Justice Committee held a public hearing on the measure Wednesday.
Salvia divinorum can cause hallucinations within seconds after it's smoked, licked or chewed. The long-term effects are unknown, but Wasserman said he feels the herb is dangerous.
"They should not be operating a vehicle at all because they're having visual changes, auditory changes. It's a serious drug, and during that point of intoxication, I wouldn't want to be on the road with them," Wasserman said.
The bill would crack down on those who produce and sell Salvia by imposing a fine not to exceed $10,000 for manufacturing, distributing or delivering the active ingredient in the plant, WISC-TV reported.
"We need to do something about the ready access teenagers have to it over the Internet and in stores across the state. We cannot allow young people to be deceived into thinking the drug is risk free because it is legal," Wasserman said.
Federal drug laws don't address the herb, although the Drug Enforcement Administration is researching whether it belongs on its controlled substance list.
At least eight other states have passed statutes regulating the herb.
--- End news story
When Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA) proposed the California law to ban salvia a couple years back, I heard about it and immediately called his office to tell them to cut it out. The secretary asked for my phone number and said that someone would call me back, which is not at all what I expected. An hour later I got a call from a legislative assistant who was _very_ well informed about drugs, but was on the other side. Turns out that this is the guy who wrote the law. I spoke with him for about two hours and it was a really good conversation. We discussed many aspects of the proposed law, how much harm it would cause, how much good it would do, etc. I reminded him how no one had head of MDMA in 1984, and shortly after it was outlawed its use exploded. I don't know if I had any direct effect, but it felt really good to be able to speak with the man directly and make an attempt to reason with him.
He told me that he intended to introduce it the next year, but he never did.
Gathering information about how Salvia can help addicts is one positive thing that can be done. If it can be shown to have helpful effects and little potential for abuse, it would have a hard time getting passed.
I just spoke with wisconsin senator sheldon wasserman's office a minute ago. They said that the bill has not yet made it out of committee, they are considering it this week.
Wisconsin residents, now is the time for action!
Call sheldon wasserman's office (http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/contact/legislatorpages.aspx?house=Assembly&district=22) and also david cullen's office (http://www.legis.state.wi.us/assembly/asm13/news/) and ask them not to make the salvia bill into law.
Since these two yahoos wrote the bill, they are the best people to call. The next best people are the other members of the committee which is currently considering this legislation. I don't know what committee it is or who sits on the committee, I'll let a wisconsin resident take over from here.
Another thing that can be done is to alert the marijuana legalization community - many of them have an affinity for plants in general and could be convinced to call the senators.
The full text of the proposed Wisconsin anti-salvia bill (AB477) is here:
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2007/data/AB477hst.html
And a small amendment that changes the bill so it references Salvinorin A:
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2007/data/AB477-AA1.pdf
And most importantly, here is a link to the page that gives the current status of the bill:
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2007/data/AB477hst.html
Currently, the most recent status is that they had a public hearing on 12/5. The bill is still being considered by the committee on criminal justice.
The time to kill this bill is NOW, before it reaches the full house floor. Currently the only people that need to be convinced to kill the bill are the members of the committee on criminal justice. (http://www.legis.state.wi.us/w3asp/commpages/IndividualCommittee.aspx?COMMITTEE=Criminal%20Just ice&HOUSE=Assembly) If it leaves the committee, we will have to work on the entire legislature.
Here is a thread at entheogen.com about this bill:
http://www.entheogen.com/forum/showthread.php?p=145445
December 5, 2007 - channel3000.com
State lawmakers are debating a bill that would add Wisconsin to a handful of states regulating a hallucinogenic Mexican herb.
State Reps. Sheldon Wasserman and David Cullen authored the bill that would prohibit the sale of Salvia divinorum. The Assembly Criminal Justice Committee held a public hearing on the measure Wednesday.
Salvia divinorum can cause hallucinations within seconds after it's smoked, licked or chewed. The long-term effects are unknown, but Wasserman said he feels the herb is dangerous.
"They should not be operating a vehicle at all because they're having visual changes, auditory changes. It's a serious drug, and during that point of intoxication, I wouldn't want to be on the road with them," Wasserman said.
The bill would crack down on those who produce and sell Salvia by imposing a fine not to exceed $10,000 for manufacturing, distributing or delivering the active ingredient in the plant, WISC-TV reported.
"We need to do something about the ready access teenagers have to it over the Internet and in stores across the state. We cannot allow young people to be deceived into thinking the drug is risk free because it is legal," Wasserman said.
Federal drug laws don't address the herb, although the Drug Enforcement Administration is researching whether it belongs on its controlled substance list.
At least eight other states have passed statutes regulating the herb.
--- End news story
When Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA) proposed the California law to ban salvia a couple years back, I heard about it and immediately called his office to tell them to cut it out. The secretary asked for my phone number and said that someone would call me back, which is not at all what I expected. An hour later I got a call from a legislative assistant who was _very_ well informed about drugs, but was on the other side. Turns out that this is the guy who wrote the law. I spoke with him for about two hours and it was a really good conversation. We discussed many aspects of the proposed law, how much harm it would cause, how much good it would do, etc. I reminded him how no one had head of MDMA in 1984, and shortly after it was outlawed its use exploded. I don't know if I had any direct effect, but it felt really good to be able to speak with the man directly and make an attempt to reason with him.
He told me that he intended to introduce it the next year, but he never did.
Gathering information about how Salvia can help addicts is one positive thing that can be done. If it can be shown to have helpful effects and little potential for abuse, it would have a hard time getting passed.
I just spoke with wisconsin senator sheldon wasserman's office a minute ago. They said that the bill has not yet made it out of committee, they are considering it this week.
Wisconsin residents, now is the time for action!
Call sheldon wasserman's office (http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/contact/legislatorpages.aspx?house=Assembly&district=22) and also david cullen's office (http://www.legis.state.wi.us/assembly/asm13/news/) and ask them not to make the salvia bill into law.
Since these two yahoos wrote the bill, they are the best people to call. The next best people are the other members of the committee which is currently considering this legislation. I don't know what committee it is or who sits on the committee, I'll let a wisconsin resident take over from here.
Another thing that can be done is to alert the marijuana legalization community - many of them have an affinity for plants in general and could be convinced to call the senators.
The full text of the proposed Wisconsin anti-salvia bill (AB477) is here:
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2007/data/AB477hst.html
And a small amendment that changes the bill so it references Salvinorin A:
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2007/data/AB477-AA1.pdf
And most importantly, here is a link to the page that gives the current status of the bill:
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2007/data/AB477hst.html
Currently, the most recent status is that they had a public hearing on 12/5. The bill is still being considered by the committee on criminal justice.
The time to kill this bill is NOW, before it reaches the full house floor. Currently the only people that need to be convinced to kill the bill are the members of the committee on criminal justice. (http://www.legis.state.wi.us/w3asp/commpages/IndividualCommittee.aspx?COMMITTEE=Criminal%20Just ice&HOUSE=Assembly) If it leaves the committee, we will have to work on the entire legislature.
Here is a thread at entheogen.com about this bill:
http://www.entheogen.com/forum/showthread.php?p=145445