|
veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
|
Clock ticking on sale of herb [IL]
#7796799 - 12/24/07 10:12 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
December 24, 2007 - chicagotribune.com
Clock ticking on sale of herb In '08, state will add salvia divinorum to list of banned substances
Green, leafy and innocuous, salvia divinorum looks like it would be more interesting to a gardener than a police officer.
But the plant's unique hallucinogenic properties have turned "the sage of the diviners" into a botanical target caught in a crossfire between politicians, spiritualists and scientists over whether it's a drug that should be banned or an herb that should be freely available for research and personal use.
On Jan. 1, the legality argument will be settled in Illinois, as the state becomes the latest to list salvia divinorum as a Schedule I substance, the strictest level of control.
The classification will effectively ban the plant, which was previously available at tobacco shops, "head shops" and even gas stations. Possession or sale of salvia divinorum will become a felony, with legal consequences as severe as those for heroin or LSD.
State Rep. Dennis Reboletti (R-Elmhurst), who drafted the bill classifying the salvia divinorum as a Schedule I drug, said it was necessary to regulate the drug tightly in Illinois because it has not yet been banned by the federal government.
"We decided to move forward rather than waiting for someone to be killed because of it," Reboletti said.
Salvia divinorum is a powerful natural hallucinogen initially used in religious ceremonies by Mazatec Indians in the Oaxaca region of Mexico. In the last 30 to 40 years, it has spread to the U.S. and other countries, where it can often be bought over the counter or from Internet sites as leaves or a liquid extract.
The plant's leaves can be smoked or chewed to very different effects. At higher doses, the drug may produce hallucinations and other sensory distortions, though the duration of its effects—about 20 minutes—is much shorter than usually observed for synthetic psychedelic drugs such as LSD.
Reboletti said it was dangerous for such a powerful drug to be so freely available in Illinois, able to be bought by teens and college students.
"It's very likely that you could hurt yourself or hurt others while in this drug-induced state," he said.
Others say that banning the plant and its derivatives is too harsh, given its potential for spiritual and medical use. Advocates say salvia divinorum has erroneously earned a reputation as a recreational drug thanks to Internet videos and sensationalistic reports.
Crystal Basler, owner of The Country Goddess, a religious-supplies store in Carbondale, has sold salvia in its leaf or extract form for about a year. She said that until recently, most buyers of the herb were middle-age professionals rather than thrill-seeking teenagers.
"Some people describe [the effect] as they get very relaxed, kind of like taking an anti-stress pill," Basler said. "The leaf is very, very mild. There's no reason to ever make the leaf illegal. A lot of women buy it for PMS depression."
Basler said she explains to her customers that salvia is for spiritual or medicinal use, rather than recreational use, occasionally to the point of making them watch a British documentary on the drug before she sells them the product.
"I'm a big fan of [salvia] being regulated," Basler said. "But it shouldn't be illegal because you're interfering with people's right to choose in terms of their health care and religious following."
Rick Doblin, director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, agrees that salvia divinorum produces an experience that's more introspective than thrilling in nature.
"Only a small percentage of people actually buy it more than once," Doblin said. "It's not fun in the way people normally seek out drugs."
Doblin, who himself has tried chewing the plant's leaves, described the experience as "introspective, curious, weird."
"I really felt like there was this closeness developed between the stars, the trees and us," Doblin described. "It seemed like the stars were both light-years away and right there between the leaves of the tree."
Doblin said salvia divinorum is unique among hallucinogens in how it targets the brain, which could make the plant, or its derivative chemicals, useful for treating medical conditions such as depression.
He said that although he wasn't aware of any clinical studies on salvia in process, restrictions could make future research on the drug "much more difficult."
Reboletti said no local scientists or doctors contacted him when the bill was being considered by the state legislature but added that he would not obstruct the use of salvia for research purposes.
"If the University of Illinois were to come to me . . . we could definitely amend the bill if that were the case," he said. "If they wanted to possess it for research purposes, I wouldn't have an issue with that."
As for personal use of salvia, the ticking clock of legal sales has made the herb and its extract a hot item for retailers such as The Highway, a tobacco store in Chicago.
"People are stocking up because of the ban," said Sebastian Pogorzelski, co-owner of the store. "They're saying, 'Wow, that's crazy, I'm going to come in and buy some more.' "
But Pogorzelski said he thinks salvia's popularity will wilt once the ban goes into effect.
"I doubt anyone's going to go out to another state or anything just to purchase it," he said.
|
Chemy
Jesus is Lord

Registered: 10/05/07
Posts: 6,276
Loc: A Church
Last seen: 14 years, 1 month
|
Re: Clock ticking on sale of herb [IL] *DELETED* [Re: veggie]
#7796954 - 12/24/07 11:03 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
Post deleted by ChemyReason for deletion: delete
-------------------- Alcoholics Anonymous Narcotics Anonymous Get help, help is free and available 24/7/365. God bless you all and I hope you receive the help you need to turn away from your lives of sin. Mushrooms and drugs make you gay, you can reverse this homosexual condition with rehab, get help! Stop being gay!
|
keyguy01
Stranger

Registered: 12/22/07
Posts: 29
Last seen: 12 years, 4 months
|
Re: Clock ticking on sale of herb [IL] [Re: Chemy]
#7797029 - 12/24/07 11:36 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
"We decided to move forward rather than waiting for someone to be killed because of it," Reboletti said.
wow.. just.. wow
|
keyguy01
Stranger

Registered: 12/22/07
Posts: 29
Last seen: 12 years, 4 months
|
Re: Clock ticking on sale of herb [IL] [Re: keyguy01]
#7797036 - 12/24/07 11:39 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
Think many people are gonna risk going to jail for it? I can't imagine getting salvia from a dealer..
|
takk
Stranger


Registered: 02/22/06
Posts: 736
|
Re: Clock ticking on sale of herb [IL] [Re: keyguy01]
#7797315 - 12/25/07 02:13 AM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
well look on the bright side....
Extract pre-cut with weed
|
Grylls



Registered: 10/15/07
Posts: 394
Loc: East of the Continental D...
Last seen: 1 year, 5 months
|
Re: Clock ticking on sale of herb [IL] [Re: keyguy01]
#7797847 - 12/25/07 10:04 AM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
Quote:
keyguy01 said: "We decided to move forward rather than waiting for someone to be killed because of it," Reboletti said.
wow.. just.. wow
Double wow...just...triple-retarded wow
Don't you just hate misinformed, white collar politicians?
-------------------- Alone in the clouds all blue. Lying on an eiderdown. You can't see me, but I can you.
|
WScott
´ ɑ `▽ ᑲᓇᑕ


Registered: 07/31/05
Posts: 5,713
Loc: Nacada
Last seen: 9 months, 15 days
|
Re: Clock ticking on sale of herb [IL] [Re: Grylls]
#7797904 - 12/25/07 10:29 AM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
Not hard to see this coming.
--------------------

|
Grylls



Registered: 10/15/07
Posts: 394
Loc: East of the Continental D...
Last seen: 1 year, 5 months
|
Re: Clock ticking on sale of herb [IL] [Re: WScott]
#7798221 - 12/25/07 12:55 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
I wonder when Utah is going to schedule it. I'm not a fan of Salvia, but I do have a plant growing just for this purpose.
-------------------- Alone in the clouds all blue. Lying on an eiderdown. You can't see me, but I can you.
|
EntheogenicPeace
Scholar



Registered: 10/04/05
Posts: 3,926
|
Re: Clock ticking on sale of herb [IL] [Re: veggie]
#7798267 - 12/25/07 01:19 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
---
Edited by EntheogenicPeace (02/12/21 06:32 PM)
|
Jeebies


Registered: 01/23/07
Posts: 1,118
Loc: Transgenic corn&beans, USA
Last seen: 9 years, 8 months
|
|
Well, I'm from Illinois, and Gov. Blagojevich is also trying to ban semi-automatic weapons.
Some members of the Illinois government just need to be eliminated, it's just that simple. Banning another benign plant is outrageous, and as far as know it's also a plant that has never killed anyone directly. They're taking "preventive measures"- fuck them!
I love how logic has no place in politics.
|
learningtofly
Ancient Aliens



Registered: 05/21/07
Posts: 15,105
Loc: Out of this world
Last seen: 12 years, 5 months
|
Re: Clock ticking on sale of herb [IL] [Re: Jeebies]
#7801040 - 12/26/07 02:15 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
fuck them up their hypocritical misinformed asses! they should AT LEAST do some fucking research before claiming it has the ability to kill whilst making alcohol seem just fine and dandy.
I would like to be an official and ban "addictive and deadly substances" aka cigs and alcohol for a month and see what happens. it's so fuckin dumb how they claim things like salvia are as dangerous as heroin and turn the other cheek on actually harmful substances that can be easily bought and sold anywhere.
--------------------
|
shroomgatherer
Connoisseur of the finer things



Registered: 11/08/07
Posts: 1,731
Loc: Florida
Last seen: 2 months, 9 days
|
Re: Clock ticking on sale of herb [IL] [Re: Chemy]
#7801163 - 12/26/07 03:17 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Chemy said:
Quote:
Possession or sale of salvia divinorum will become a felony, with legal consequences as severe as those for heroin
The state of Illinois is officially retarded.
I 2nd that.
-------------------- "Let us declare nature to be legitimate. All plants should be declared legal, and all animals for that matter. The notion of illegal plants and animals is obnoxious and ridiculous."
|
andrewss
precariously aggrandized


Registered: 08/17/07
Posts: 8,725
Loc: ohio
Last seen: 1 month, 13 days
|
Re: Clock ticking on sale of herb [IL] [Re: shroomgatherer]
#7801351 - 12/26/07 04:23 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
that representative sounds like a douche... the DEA should suck his cock for being such a good person.
-------------------- Jesus loves you.
|
MrMaddHatter
Dementia praecox



Registered: 06/07/02
Posts: 1,420
Loc: Everywhere
|
Re: Clock ticking on sale of herb [IL] [Re: Chemy]
#7802539 - 12/26/07 11:52 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Chemy said:
Quote:
Possession or sale of salvia divinorum will become a felony, with legal consequences as severe as those for heroin
More states will surely follow............. sucks.
|
hpi
Tsar Bomba




Registered: 01/17/07
Posts: 11,922
Loc: Montreal, Canada
Last seen: 8 months, 25 days
|
Re: Clock ticking on sale of herb [IL] [Re: MrMaddHatter]
#7806772 - 12/28/07 08:22 AM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
I am SO happy I live in Canada and not a fucked up country like America.
Lsd is shcedule 3 here not 1. it's not in the same class as fucken heron and I dobt sally is gonna be banned anytime soon.
Better start growing your own everyone.
-------------------- Tohu Tehom Theli Than Leviathan Tanin'iver Taninsam! Tohu Tehom Theli Than Leviathan Tanin'iver Taninsam! There exists one lie that is the absolute worst. A lie that has successfully infiltrated many of the Western governments. This lie is Christianity, and it must be fought in every way, shape and form. Burn the churches and kill the priests. The abomination that is Christianity must be wiped from this Earth.
4-Methyl-Aminorex
Edited by hpi (12/28/07 08:23 AM)
|
Divided_Sky
Ten ThousandThings

Registered: 11/02/03
Posts: 3,171
Loc: The Shining Void
Last seen: 15 years, 7 months
|
Re: Clock ticking on sale of herb [IL] [Re: hpi]
#7807173 - 12/28/07 11:25 AM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
I'm glad they interviewed Rick Doblin. He knows what he is talking about.
-------------------- 1. "After an hour I wasn't feeling anything so I decided to take another..." 2. "We were feeling pretty good so we decided to smoke a few bowls..." 3. "I had to be real quiet because my parents were asleep upstairs..."
|
|