In 90 days, the controversial psychoactive plant Salvia will be banned across Ohio and will no longer be available in smoke shops in the university area.

The bill, signed by Gov. Ted Strickland on Friday, was sponsored by former state representative Thom Collier after a boy from Loudonville, Ohio, was killed by a friend under the influence of Salvia.

Salvia is an herb from the mint family with hallucinogenic effects, and is native to Mexico.

Shamans from the Mazatec Indian tribe use it to induce ritual trances.

The bill’s passage treats Salvia as a Schedule I controlled substance with the same penalties associated with cocaine, heroin and psychedelic drugs.

Graphic by Lisa Fousek.GRAPHIC LISA FOUSEK/THE LANTERN
According to Erowid.org, a non-profit educational group, “individuals currently in the midst of emotional or psychological upheaval in their everyday lives should be careful about choosing to use psychoactive drugs such as Salvia as they could possibly trigger even more difficulty.”

Salvia can also bring out latent mental problems in people with schizophrenia in their families.

The herb has been available for purchase at various smoke shops in the campus area.

“A lot of people come in just to buy it, or are just interested and want to know more,” said Brittany Johnson, an employee at Dream Merchant on High Street.

Johnson said that the ban of Salvia could affect their sales.

“It’s a pretty big part of [sales],” she said. “I think there could be an effect, but we would recover.”

John Sharvin, who works at Waterbeds N’ Stuff, said the store has taken some action to prepare for the ban.

“We’ve cut our prices back to promote more sales,” Sharvin said.

Sharvin, a sophomore in fine arts, does not think the ban on Salvia will hurt the store’s sales.

“Quite surprisingly we have quite a couple of people [who] come in regularly and buy it,” Sharvin said.

“We sell a lot of it but it’s definitely not our number one seller. A lot of people aren’t really going to do it.”

Sharvin, who is also pro-marijuana, is against the illegalization effort of Salvia in Ohio.

“I don’t think it’ll prevent more people from doing it,” he said.

“Growing Salvia is like the easiest thing ever. No one even knows what it looks like. It’s gonna be one of those stupid drug laws. It’s just gonna create a black market and then the government doesn’t get any taxes, which is really ridiculous.”

Johnson shares a similar sentiment.

“I don’t think it should be illegal,” Johnson said.

“I think it should be up to the person.”

According to salvia.net, 10 states have passed legislation against Salvia use.

Former state representative Thom Collier and Dream Merchant owner Nolan Miller were unavailable for comment.

Everdeen Mason can be reached at [email protected].