Earlier this month, Gov. Doyle signed into law a ban on the drug salvia divinorum, making Wisconsin the 19th state to do so. The law specifically prohibits the sale, delivery or manufacturing of the drug with the intent that it be consumed by a person. Doyle stated the ban was not intended to go after the users of the drug but the sellers, and set a maximum penalty of $10,000 for those who break the law. The ban officially goes into effect on March 17 and is yet another move in the third war the country is fighting: the un-winnable, decades-old War on Drugs.

Salvia is a non-addictive plant in the mint family that was traditionally used by the Mazatec Indians for ritual divination and healing. It has gained popularity in the U.S. over the past decade, largely thanks to YouTube videos showing users’ experiences on the drug. A simple search of the site pulls up nearly 19,000 videos showing someone laughing hysterically or being completely incapable of performing such simple tasks as making a sandwich or standing up without falling. While these videos wouldn’t be considered inspiring to many, salvia certainly has a following, demonstrated by the nearly 300,000 websites that sell it as a conscious-altering substance. Although salvia was first banned in 2005 and isn’t sold to minors, it has yet to be federally regulated, and six out of the 19 states that have laws concerning it, including Wisconsin, have made it legal to posses.

A typical salvia trip peaks within about 10 minutes and can cause users to feel anything from euphoria to deep despair. The shamanistic drug is still used today in spiritual rituals and is said to cause deep introspection. Of course in the hands of teenagers, the drug is mostly used to trip, but it is still relatively harmless. To date, there have been no deaths linked directly to the drug and very few arrests. This may be because the drug often prevents the user from doing anything more than sitting dumbfounded while on a mental journey, but it is also because salvia is non-addicting and far from a party drug. The sheer fact that it has only been regulated for the past five years should be an indication that banning the drug is unnecessary and likely only done because it was easy to do. Regulating any drug is seen as a victory in the War on Drugs, even if it is a non-threatening drug with little demand.

The War on Drugs has cost the United States over $2.5 trillion since its birth 40 years ago, with an estimated $10 billion spent already this year. Part of this expense is simply the cost of keeping drug offenders in jail. The DEA estimates 27 percent of state prison inmates are drug offenders, and in 2007 alone more than 1.8 million drug-related arrests were made. In the National Drug Threat Summary for 2009, the National Drug Intelligence Center stated, “the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs inflict tremendous harm upon individuals, families, and communities throughout the country.” What they failed to mention is the country’s drug policy does tremendous harm as well.

The NDIC estimated 35 million Americans abused illicit or prescription drugs in 2007. In 1997, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration put the number at 25 million. It is quite obvious this is a war the government is losing and can never win, given the nature of the fight. Declaring war on a noun makes about as much sense as outlawing an adjective, and while it is equally impractical to cease regulating the drug trade altogether, we need to know when to cash in our chips. The government is currently regulating 375 different drugs in four different “schedules.” If salvia were to be scheduled, rumor has it that it would become a Schedule 1, joining marijuana and LSD along with heroin and cocaine as drugs with high potential for abuse and no medical benefits.

It would be na�ve to think the country would prosper if the government suddenly gave up the War on Drugs completely. What is not na�ve is the thought that the government needs to restructure the fight. Arresting thousands of people and destroying families, vilifying plants and people who use them for medical benefit, and spending billions of taxpayer dollars are not the best strategies to win the war on drugs. Continuing to do things like ban medicinal marijuana or outlaw plants like salvia simply because they can are cheap ways for the government to save face in a war it is destined to fail. Instead of fighting against the means of escape, the government should be fighting against what causes the need to escape in the first place. In the War on Drugs, it is the American people that are losing.

Allegra Dimperio ([email protected]) is a freshman majoring in theatre and intending to major in journalism.