Salvia remains legal in Texas (..for now)

June 16, 2011

For the third time in a row, a Texas lawmaker’s attempt to ban sales of Salvia divinorum did not make it at the Capitol.

Rep. Charles Anderson, in an interview following the legislative session that ended May 30, said he will keep pressing for a ban in the future.

“The one up side of all of this is we’ve been able to educate people,” Anderson said.

Anderson tried assorted maneuvers to pass his legislation. Though he won widespread support in the Texas House, Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, worked to thwart his bill on a crucial day late in the session. Simpson said because the plant is used in some cultures’ religions, Texas would be trampling religious freedom by banning it.

“I certainly don’t support the abuse of any substance,” Simpson said, but added that government prohibition isn’t the answer.