Utah (UT)

[Paradoxic]

Current Status: Bill proposed (as of Sept 3, 2008)
Classification: Schedule I
Bill Reference: HB260
Contact State Representatives:
   - House of Representatives
   - Senate
External Links: Wikipedia | Erowid
Action Leader: N/A  (to apply please post a reply to this topic)


Details
KSL's Utah news channel broadcast a story on November 27, 2006 warning its viewers about Salvia divinorum.^[1]  The next day, Paul Ray introduced House Bill 190 which proposed to make Salvia divinorum a Schedule I controlled substance.

The House Representatives voted unanimously in favor of the bill. On February 22, 2007 the bill status was 'House/ passed 3rd reading' (Yeas - 68, Nays - 0). But the bill did not get enacted during its legislative session and was instead sent to the House file for defeated bills on February 28, 2007.

Paul Ray re-filed the proposed legislation on January 9, 2008 for consideration in the general legislative session. The bill has been filed as Utah House Bill 260.


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.

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.

[black8teen]

As a student I do not have time to necessarily be in charge of the legality in Utah, but I would like to send one of Daniel Siebert's papers to the representatives of Utah. I am just making sure it is okay to use his direct letter? I feel I would be unable to condense the information and word it quite like he did. . .

[Paradoxic]

Its okay to use it, just as long as you have read through it and understand and agree with it. Also make sure to change the to and from stuff. Siebert would be pleased to know that people are using his writing to support Salvia (and I'm sure he already knows people have used it).

[black8teen]

Utah has been fine to just let the bill die. . . I sent an email to the maker of the bill, but have as of yet to hear a response on it. I used a very similar draft letter as the one Mr. Siebert wrote. I wonder when it will again be an issue in Utah. . . I do not mind if they just put it to an age limit, but I don't want to accidentally force a bill into action by bringing attention to Salvia when the bill against it is already in the defeated bills pile.

I find it really stupid that Salvia was on the Bill to become a Schedule I controlled substance. . . It was in the same class as Morphine and Heroine. . . . . . (Insert angry statements here)

[Yossaria]

Just putting everybody on alert, especially considering that a media report preceded the last Utah bill...

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/state/story/ABC-4-INVESTIGATES-Is-Salvia-the-new-Weed/L8vjjPiiO0ix2O6-aMRymQ.cspx

[Sasquatch]

These media reports are just insane. Do they ever consider that the reason that so many young people use Salvia instead of cannabis might be the media reports that make the comparison?!

Nobody that has actually tried Salvia would ever compare them. And yet, in the thinly-vieled editorializing in the articles, they still see it fit to act morally shocked that it is legal. How do they sleep at night?

[Yossaria]

Once again, another terrible news article on salvia.  Looks like we may see another bill from Paul Ray in the Fall if one doesn't show up earlier...

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top%20stories/story/Salvia-The-New-Weed-Part-2/jzZxyabJIUO3nfEX2J6GfQ.cspx

[mcweaver989]

Ouch! Where are the reporters that actually go out and get news/first hand accounts for themselves? (as opposed to the mindless regurgitation of slop from idiots behind desks)
-Thanks Yossaria

[|if3]

They want to scare people, they always have and always will. I can't wait until everyone realizes this.