Many states move to ban salvia

WASHINGTON, March 5 (UPI) -- Many U.S. states have banned or are considering bans on salvia, a type of mint often used for ground cover and also taken for its hallucinogenic effects.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is considering classifying salvia as a Schedule I narcotic, Stateline.org reported Wednesday. That would put it in the same category as heroin, cocaine and marijuana.

Missouri, Delaware, North Dakota and Illinois classified salvia as a Schedule I drug in 2005. A Virginia ban has passed the state legislature and is awaiting the governor's signature.

Salvia divinorum, grown mostly in the area around Oaxaca, Mexico, has been used for centuries in religious rituals by native shamans. In recent years, it has become popular with young people elsewhere.

"I think the Internet has actually driven this," said Virginia State Del. John O'Bannon, a Republican who sponsored that state's law. "I think the Internet is one of the reasons why it's actually spread out of the local indigenous areas in Mexico."