Alabama (AL)

Current Status: Bill proposed (as of Feb 20, 2009)
Bill Name: HB 475
Bill Text: http://alisondb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/searchableinstruments/2009rs/bills/hb475.htm
Classification: Schedule 1
Status: Read second time in House of Origin (as of February 9, 2009)
Sponsors: Representatives Hall, McCutcheon, Hinshaw, Taylor, Ball and Sanderford

Contact State Representatives:
- House of Representatives
- Senate
External Links: Wikipedia
Action Leader: N/A (to apply please post a reply to this topic)

Details:
This bill, first read on 2/12/2009, would classify both Salvia divinorum and salvinorin A as Schedule 1 substances under Section 20-2-23 of the Code of Alabama 1975 and "shall become effective on the first day of the third month following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law"

Current Status: Bill proposed (as of Feb 20, 2009)
Bill Name: SB 42
Bill Text: http://alisondb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/searchableinstruments/2009rs/bills/sb42.htm
Classification: Schedule 1
Status: Pending committee action in House of Origin as of February 3, 2009
Sponsors: Senator Erwin

Details:
This bill, first read on February 3, 2009, is essentially a senate copy of the house bill listed above.

Take Action
Send letters to state representatives

Modified version of Daniel Siebert's letter: View template or Download it in RTF format
If you sent a letter to a representative in this state post it and it will be added here.

Attend public hearing
This is the most effective way to take action against a ban. If you know about an upcoming date for a hearing please post it and it will be added here. You can search the state web sites to look for public hearing dates.
*Please post any public hearing dates you know of

Suggested key points:

Salvia is not a problem: No emergency room admittances, no drug counseling or addiction services admittances, no salvia related crime being reported by LEO, no superintendents speaking out against it. No deaths, and poison control rates it as a very low priority. Salvia has been around for a couple decades, or at least as long as the current meth plague--if salvia was going to be a widespread problem, it would have been by now.
Medicinal and/or scientific potential
Salvia is NOT a recreational substance and cannot be grouped with LSD, mushrooms, ecstasy, marijuana, etc. (ex: not addictive, short-acting, non-toxic, unappealing/unpleasant as a recreational substance)
Religious use. History dating back thousands of years of indigenous use and decades of contemporary spiritual use. Without apparent harm or addictive tendencies.
Arguments against rest almost exclusively on hearsay: unsubstantiated internet videos (search on alcohol and compare the number of videos), and the marketing claims of unscrupulous sellers.
Suggest age restriction instead of an outright ban (give examples of this being done in Maine and California)

*Please suggest other tips/links

Public hearing tips:

Good resource: http://www.ctkidslink.org/action_howtestify.html#anchor368848
Do research in your own state. Go the your state DEA or Office of Substance Abuse website and dig around a bit. Find out how much it costs to arrest, prosecute, and jail per person for drugs crimes and include that figure in your arguments against a ban. The ME financial report associated with a ban indicated minimal fiscal impact, but using their own reported figures, it turns out that it costs near $60,000 for each successful drug crime prosecution.

*Please suggest other tips/links

Discourage irresponsible sale
Visit your local smoke shops or send them letters to encourage them not to sell Salvia divinorum to minors and include safety information about using Salvia divinorum. You can print out a User Guide (or part of it) to give to them.

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*Please post a reply if you have any additions or updates for this page.
*Please post about any action you are taking in this state.