Forensic Science Blog

Salvia divinorum: Quiet since ban?

For more information on this topic, see this recent article in Miller-McCune.

Almost three years ago, several research efforts were launched at the University of Florida to investigate the buzz around Salvia divinorum.  The inquiry was catalyzed by a few students asking questions about the (then) obscure psychoactive plant in one of the researcher’s Drugs, Alcohol, & Society course.  At that time, the media was only beginning to increase their coverage on the derivatives and products of this plant; the tipping point seems to be when the recreational use of a Internet product containing Salvia divinorum extract reportedly caused the death of a teenager - Brett Chidester - in 2006.

Salvia divinorum is a species of plant in the mint family that is somewhat new to the western world.  Commonly addressed in pop-culture and media by its genus name - salvia - it was discovered for its psychoactive properties in the middle of the 20th century along with other substances from the Americas such as psilocybe mushrooms (magic mushrooms) and peyote/mescaline.  This happened just before the era of Timothy Leary and the LSD craze that became so tied to the hippie and 60s culture, only salvia never became popular until much later.  This should not come as a surprise as a stream of literature cites that the active primarily psychoactive ingredient in the plant - Salvinorin A - can produce substantial dysphoria.  Since euphoric experiences - or the avoidance of dysphoric experiences such as avoiding withdrawal symptoms or escaping from a harsh reality - are so key to continuing to use drugs of abuse, it may be likely that salvia never caught on like LSD, mushrooms, and mescaline because of its likelihood of producing unpleasurable effects.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), University of Florida researchers Hayden Griffin, David Khey, and Bryan Lee Miller, and San Diego State University researchers James Lange and his colleagues, it appears that the recreational use of salvia is indeed present at low rates in U.S. teens, young adults, and college students as ascertained by self-report surveys.  No one really knows when this started and how, but what is known is that salvia products marketed for recreational use have been on sale on Internet sites since the late 1990s as shown by researchers looking for products marketed as a “legal high.”  Only in the last few years have researchers put salvia on their watch list to monitor the pulse of its use among youth and college students.  This seems primarily due to the media coverage on the recreational use of the plant.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has placed Salvia divinorum on its drugs of concern watch list, however the agency has yet to take any concerted action in controlling the plant or products derived from the plant material.  Instead, the DEA has taken the stance that the recreational use of the plant remains limited and is unlikely to sustain continued use among users who dabble in using the plant to get high.  The social scientific investigations by University of Florida researchers support the Drug Enforcement Administration’s stance on salvia.  Only about 20% of the respondents surveyed could even identify what the plant was or heard of it in any capacity and overall, only about 6% of respondents have tried salvia or salvia products in their lifetime.  Interestingly, marijuana use and level self-control significantly predict the likelihood of the recreational use of the plant: being an active marijuana smoker and having low self-control vastly enhances the risk of engaging in this behavior.  Gender also serves to predict use: men are more likely than women to engage in recreational salvia use.  Yet in most circumstances, respondents that tried salvia did not indicate a strong desire to continue using it - many reported that they would never try it again.  The DEA’s assessment appears to be correct - but that still begs the question - why has it surfaced in recreational circles in the first place?

That research is currently underway; however, many gaps in literature exist that are becoming more pressing as states are taking control efforts on themselves given the void of federal regulation.  As of current, 13 states (including Florida) and 9 countries have legal restrictions on salvia and salvia products.  From a forensic standpoint, there does not appear to be any literature on a protocol to identify Salvia divinorum via microscopy or toxicology.  Many law enforcement officers are yet to receive any formal training on salvia and what to do with individuals suspected of salvia possession.  For example, it is unclear if officers should issue a notice to appear / written citation of arrest or take a suspect into custody for a suspected violation of the statute.  This appears to be a non-issue at this point as no arrests, legal cases, or challenges exist to date - at least in the State of Florida.

In Florida, initial findings from ongoing self-report studies suggest the complete ban (Schedule I) on the plant and plant products have substantially stymied the use found in previous research.  While it is far too early to call the measure a success by any means, it seems the impact one year later is being felt among recreational drug using college students.  It appears that the lack of recreational demand for the plant with the added barrier of the lack of availability may have resulted in a drop in prevalence.

Yet the ban has dealt a blow to researchers interested in investigating the medicinal value of salvia in the state.  It is not that it is now an impossibility to study salvia, but its scheduling does place substantial barriers on research projects on Salvia divinorum and the divinorins (the interesting active chemicals in the plant) - especially as the plant and its derivatives are scheduled in the most restrictive capacity allowed by law.  Above and beyond this, the protocol to investigate the plant may be different as it is only scheduled in this capacity at the state level, not state and federal levels.  To date, it is unclear if this law has hindered any research in the State of Florida, but it may have dissuaded anyone for pursuing research along these lines.

The jury is still out, so to speak, on whether scheduling salvia at the most restrictive level was a good idea or not.  One thing appears certain, however; scheduling salvia in this manner has seemed to stamp out the majority of recreational use of the plant in the State of Florida.  This is by no means yet definitive.  More robust research must be done to ascertain this finding.  But it seems that this result could have been achieved with less restrictive scheduling as well, leaving researchers more wiggle room to examine Salvia divinorum.