Miami Student

Issue date: 4/17/09 Section: Community

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency recently considered Salvia divinorum a "drug of concern."

A Butler County deputy made a premature decision last week, arresting a man for possession of the hallucinogen Salvia divinorum one day before the legislation went into effect to make the substance illegal in Ohio.

According to Butler County Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer, Deputy Tim Andrews arrested an out-of-state young man in Butler County April 6 for possession of Salvia divinorum and other paraphernalia.

Following the arrest there were some question as to whether the new Ohio legislation regarding salvia was actually in effect at the time.

Gov. Ted Strickland signed legislation Jan. 6 mandating salvia to be a controlled substance, meaning the manufacture, possession and use of the substance is regulated.

The legislation was intended to go into effect 90 days after the signing. April 6 marked the 90th day, but when examining the fine print of the legislation, the Butler County deputy realized the legislation did not go into effect until after the 90th day, making the effective date of legislation April 7.

After recognizing the mistake, the felony charge for drug possession against the man was dropped.

"I think the young man was unexpectedly relieved more than anything," Dwyer said.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, salvia is a perennial herb in the mint family native to regions of Mexico. In the past, it has been used as a religious healer.

More recently, salvia has been considered a "drug of concern" by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, and Ohio is now the 11th state to pass legislation prohibiting the substance.

"It is a very dangerous drug that needs to be controlled, especially because of the severity of the hallucinations it can cause," Dwyer said.

Commonly known as Maria Pastora, sage of the Seers and Magic Mint, the drug can be chewed or smoked and causes short term side effects ranging from hallucinations to uncontrollable laughter.

Dwyer said prior to the law going into effect, most paraphernalia shops carried salvia and most often younger children and college students were buying the substance, rather than adults.

"The easier it is to obtain something like that, that will cause you to hallucinate, the more you're going to see it among teens to 21-year-olds," Dwyer said.

Miami University junior Lanier Meeks said she doesn't think the new law will have that great of an impact on Miami students because, for the most part, students are not using the substance.

"People already don't use it regularly because it's too expensive and the effects of it are short, so I don't know if the law will really change anyone's behavior," Meeks said.

Mark Biales, owner of the local uptown shop The Wild Berry, said he sold salvia in his store for some time before the new law came into effect, and that business among the college students was just "okay."

Meeks said she was unsure if students even knew they could buy salvia at the local shop.

Dwyer said there are still questions surrounding the new legislation and cultivation of the drug, but that possession and use of salvia are now "definitely illegal."

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