Legislation to Criminalize

• Assembly Bill 259, introduced by Assemblyman Anthony Adams (R-Hesperia) on Feb. 5, 2007, sought to amend Section 11054 of the Health and Safety Act, which deals with controlled substances, by adding salvia divinorum to the list of controlled substances in California.
  
  

Amended Legislation

• Assembly Bill 259 was amended March 12, 2007, to further define salvia divinorum as "all parts of the plant, whether growing or not, the seeds thereof, any extract from any part of the plant, and every compound, manufacture, salts, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds or extracts" and to add salvinorin A to the list of controlled substances. It would have made possession of salvia divinorum a felony punishable by up to four years in state prison and the sale of salvia divinorum a felony punishable by up to five years in state prison. On Jan. 7, 2008, Assembly Bill 259 was amended once more to "make the sale or distribution of Salvia divinorum or Salvinorin A, or any substance or material containing Salvia divinorum or Salvinorin A, to any person under 18 years of age a misdemeanor."
  
  

Results of Voting

• Assembly Bill 259 failed to pass the first vote by the assembly committee on March 27, 2007, with two members voting in favor and three against, and with two abstaining. After being granted reconsideration, it passed the committee by a vote of 7-0, also on March 27, 2007. Amended once more, Assembly Bill 259 passed an assembly committee vote on Jan. 24, 2008 by a vote of 16-0 and was passed unanimously on the assembly floor by a vote of 76-0 on Jan. 29, 2008. The Senate passed Assembly Bill 259 by a vote of 23-5 on July 2, 2008.
  
  

Enactment as Law

• California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved Assembly Bill 259 on July 22, 2008.
  
  

Penalties for Distribution to Minors

• The sale of salvia divinorum or salvinorin A to a person under 18 years of age in California is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in county jail, a fine of $1,000 or less, or both.
  
  

Salvia's Legal Status Elsewhere

• The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration considers salvia divinorum a drug or chemical of concern, saying neither salvia divinorum or salvinorin A have approved medical uses in the United States. They were not, however, controlled under the Controlled Substances Act as of October 2009, though 14 states had placed regulatory controls on salvia divinorum and salvinorin A, with nine placing it under schedule 1 of state law and five, including California, restricting its distribution. In eight other states, legislative bills proposing regulation of salvia divinorum failed to become law. The DEA reported that salvia divinorum had been placed under regulatory controls in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Japan, Spain and Sweden.