A hallucinogenic herb, banned in several states and foreign countries, remains legal in Wisconsin but might soon be outlawed in Minnesota.

The herb, a member of the sage family, is called salvia divinorum, but is most widely known as salvia and many different street names. It is sold locally and over the Internet as an incense, but when the herb is chewed or smoked, it can cause a psychedelic high that can last up to a few minutes, or even longer when salvia extract is smoked.
While the substance is legal, local police still keep their eyes open for its use, particularly in the schools, but a La Crosse investigator, Jake Jansky, said he does not believe it is being widely abused.

“I remember one incident a few years ago where we had a guy who was shooting out windows and entering buildings. When we searched his home we found some opened salvia that had been used, but we didn’t know if he was on it at the time because we didn’t test him for that,” Jansky said.

At that time, two downtown establishments were selling the substance, but since then one business closed and the other told the Tribune they no longer sell salvia.

There is at least one La Crosse business that sells the substance, however.

A clerk at Intimate Treasures, 310 S. Fourth St., said Friday that the store sells “quite a bit” of the substance.

The clerk, who did not identify herself and referred questions to the store’s manager, did say they sell salvia as an incense and said she has no idea if some of the store’s customers use it for other purposes.

In state legislatures throughout the country and over the Internet, salvia’s legal future is roundly debated.

Those in favor of banning the substance contend little is known about the long-term dangers of using the drug, fear the drug may be more appealing to younger teens, could place the user in an unsafe situation and point to videos posted on YouTube that they say is only fueling salvia’s popularity.

At the same time, others stress that the herb is natural, has been used for centuries in various spiritual ways and say that despite the drug’s rise in use, there have been few reports of ill-effects at emergency rooms or by police. And, they add, the herb might carry some health benefit that would remain unknown if it is made illegal.

During the past few years, a small number of states has chosen to ban the controversial herb, and several others, including Minnesota and Wisconsin, have considered legislation to do the same.

While the Minnesota Legislature has yet to act on a bill there, a measure introduced in the Wisconsin Assembly has fallen to apparent defeat after the full Assembly earlier this month refused to suspend the rules to bring the bill out of committee.

The bill, (AB477) proposed by Rep. Sheldon Wasserman (R-Milwaukee) in January would have made it illegal to distribute the herb for human consumption.

Wasserman’s bill proposed a maximum $10,000 fine, but included a loophole that made the substance legal for homeopathic purposes as approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The legislation does not specify what positive benefits the substance might carry, but opponents of similar measures in other parts of the country have argued that making salvia illegal would likely make it impossible for researchers to even look for such benefits.

In Minnesota, meanwhile, Rep. Joe Atkins has proposed a bill that would criminalize salvia, and carry a five-year prison term and $10,000 fine for possessing or selling the substance.

Dan Springer can be reached at dspringer@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8269.

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