Salvia ban wagon marches on

March 4, 2013

From 2009 onwards, more and more states (and countries) have banned Salvia. With currently only 18 US states which have not passed legislation regulating Salvia divinorum and/or salvinorin A. The media without doubt has played a big role in this (see image), but also the rise of synthetic cannabinoids (which technically have absolutely nothing to do with Salvia) have given lawmakers ammunition to prohibit the sales and/or posession of Salvia.

In Canada, the situation remains vague. Globalnews points out that despite efforts to add Salvia divinorum to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) in February 2011, this to date still hasn’t happened. Meanwhile, Canadian stores continue to sell Salvia, albeit often labeled as ‘incense’.

As for Europe, the EMCDDA (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction) has listed Salvia since 1999, but there are currently no (publicly announced) plans for a EU-wide ban (which is a difficult task, given the independent drug laws per country) and Salvia is still readily available through various online shops.