Photo by Ben Hawkins
UAF student Tony Mach loads the hallucinogenic herb, salvia divinorum, into his pipe.

Foreboding permeated the room as Tony Mach loaded his pipe.

He was about to violate a social norm.

Tony Mach had heard about this powerful new drug through recent coverage in the Fairbanks News-Miner and became interested. He had dabbled in hallucinogens before, but there was something different about this particular drug. Besides the fact that according to reporting done by USA Today the substance he was about to smoke is the most powerful naturally occurring hallucinogen known, it is also completely legal to sell, possess, and ingest in Alaska.

Tony Mach finished loading the indigo powder. Pipe and lighter in hand, he gave a nervous smile before taking a hit, beginning his adventure with Salvia divinorium, one of the last legal highs to be had in this state. A distinction jeopardized by Senate Bill 38, legislation that would make it a crime to posses Salvia divinorium within Alaskan borders.

The bill’s main sponsor, Sen. Gene Therriault, R-North Pole, wants to call policy makers attention to the powerful new drug. “The committee process will determine what if anything should be done about its sale and use in Alaska,” the senator explained by e-mail.

Though many have only recently heard of it, Salvia divinorium, or “Salvia” as it is commonly known, was discovered in Mexico by westerners during the 1930s where the plant was used for centuries by the Mazatec Indians for its healing aspects and its ability to facilitate visions. So it makes sense that the Latin, Salvia divinorum, translates directly to “sage of the seers”.

According to the DEA, Salvia affects the body in two ways; physically and mentally. The drug works fast. Approximately 30 seconds after ingesting Salvia, the user will begin to feel a physical and mental high.

“Perceptions of bright lights, vivid colors and shapes, as well as body movements and body or object distortions,” DEA research concludes. “Other effects include dysphoria, uncontrolled laughter, a sense of loss of body, overlapping realities, and hallucinations.” On the physical side, the only adverse effects on the body are ,“…incoordination, dizziness, and slurred speech.” The most intense experiences last only about 15 minutes, and according to available research, Salvia is a non-addictive drug.

Salvia is sold through head shops or online. It comes in several varieties, ranging from “plain leaf” to concentrated forms several times more potent. The higher the ratio of Salvinorin A, the active chemical, to plant material, the higher the grade and the more expensive the product. One-eighth of an ounce of straight Salvia leaf, no extractions, costs $12.95 in Fairbanks. A 15-times extraction goes for 69.95. The highest grade sold at one store in town was labeled 60x, priced at about $100.

Salvia’s effects aren’t comparable to alcohol or marijuana, according to sagewisdom.org, a website dedicated to the education and responsible use of Salvia.

“It produces a profoundly introspective state of awareness that is useful for meditation, contemplation, and self-reflection… If you try to party with Salvia, you will probably not have a good experience.”

Sagewisdom.org recommends that drug users do so in the company of a “sitter,” a sober individual whose job it is to keep the user from harming themselves or others, and never use Salvia in the presence of knives or firearms. For a full list of warnings, go to http://sagewisdom.org/usersguide.html

Most reported injuries reflect the drug’s effects on coordination. Simple stumbles or scrapes are most common, but occasionally serious injuries occur. While using Salvia, University of Florida student Joel Birsch, reportedly wrestled a friend and threw himself down a staircase, dislocating his shoulder.

“I thought I was a Ninja Turtle,” Birsch told Florida’s WFTV.

Such accidents are what Sen. Therriault hopes to avoid through SB 38.

“What I’m trying to do here is be proactive instead of reactive to the newest drug on the scene,” the senator told the Anchorage Daily News

Therriault introduced his Salvia legislation in January. It’s currently in the finance committee and has yet to receive a Senate floor vote.

If approved in its current form, the proposed law would prohibit the sale and consumption of Salvia in Alaska. But regulatory efforts may stop short of an outright ban, according to the senator. One compromise under discussion might outlaw Salvia possession by minors, yet permit adult use of the drug. It all depends, he wrote in an e-mail, “if the (legislative) process determines that this is the correct course of action.”

Some dispute the senator’s characterization of Salvia as new.

“Salvia’s been around for ever, said Chad Pierce, an employee at a Fairbanks adult novelty store selling “Purple Sticky” brand Salvia. “It’s just lately we’ve been catching a lot of flack for it,” said the clerk, who added that he first “burned” the drug 10 years ago.

Recent publicity has been good for sales, according to Pierce. “Every time somebody writes something in the newspaper I sell out of this stuff.”

Lt. Andy Greenstreet, deputy commander of the Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement, was recently quoted in the Anchorage Daily news as saying that Salvia “ Hasn’t been much of an issue here yet ”,

Although there may be no record of people harmed or committing crimes while on Salvia in Alaska, Therriault said he’s seen reports “of people injuring themselves in other states or committing suicide while using the drug.”

A Google search revealed one Salvia-linked suicide.

Brett Chidester, a 17-year-old from Delaware, killed himself in January of 2006 through carbon monoxide poisoning. No Salvia was found in his system, according to the autopsy report, yet three months after his death the chief medical examiner declared Salvia a contributing factor. Brett’s mother testified that Brett’s mood had become darker during the months leading up to his death, and she believes that his use of Salvia was responsible for Brett’s depression.

A major piece of evidence used to link Salvia to Brett’s death is an essay he wrote, describing his experience on the drug.

“Salvia allows us to give up our senses and wander in the interdimensional time and space. […] Also, and this is probably hard for most to accept, our existence in general is pointless. Final point: Us earthly humans are nothing.”

Back in the room, Tony Mach takes hit number two. Almost instantly after, he drifts into a stupor. “Whu,” he says, repeating the syllable to himself, at times smiling, at times staring at the pipe, or the lighter. “Whu,” he again says, seemingly unaware others are present.

His trip lasts about five minutes.

“Big time hallucinations,” Mach said afterward.

“Midway through my second hit, I looked down at my hands, and I had the lighter and the pipe there, one in either hand and they sort of elongated” Tony Mach said. “They grew real deep and multiplied until they turned into these, like thick pages of a book. My physical body was not a part of the trip at that point. I remember flipping through the pages but I didn’t see my hands.”

Tony Mach later recalled he felt certain “a sense of unease” after his Salvia trip.

“Like I had just witnessed something or gone some where that I just really wasn’t ready for,” as he put it. “Like I witnessed something bigger, something that I really couldn’t understand.”