California (CA)

Current Status: Bill passed (July 22, 2008)
Classification: Prohibit sale to minors
Bill Reference: AB259
Contact State Representatives:
- House of Representatives
- Senate
External Links: Wikipedia | Erowid
Action Leader: Sea Mac

Details
AB259 was introduced Feb 5, 2007. If passed, the bill would add Salvia divinorum to the list of Schedule I controlled substances in the state of California. The bill was amended Mar 12, 2007 to include salvinorin A in ban. It failed in committee on Mar 27, 2007 (3 to 2) but could be reintroduced.

The bill was referred to the Committee on Public Safety with a due date for public hearing on March 27, 2007. The bill analysis indicated that opposition to the bill was registered by, among others, Daniel Siebert and the Drug Policy Alliance. The bill was defeated in Committee by a 3-2 vote. A reconsideration was granted and the second hearing was on January 15, 2008.

The bill wording was significantly amended on January 7, 2008. The proposal for Schedule I classification was dropped and replaced instead with restrictions on the sale to minors. Section 379 to be added to the penal code - "Every person who sells, dispenses, distributes, furnishes, administers, gives, or offers to sell, dispense, distribute, furnish, administer, or give Salvia divinorum or Salvinorin A, or any substance or material containing Salvia divinorum or Salvinorin A, to any person who is less than 18 years of age, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment."

The Governor signed the bill into law July 22, 2008.

Take Action
Send letters to state representatives

Modified version of Daniel Siebert's letter: View template or Download it in RTF format
Sea Mac's Letter

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.

Spread the word: Send this page to a friend

*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.