Current Status: Waiting for the "Senate Health Policy Committee" to report back to the Senate so the Senate can vote on the proposed billTHE ACTUAL PROPOSED BILL:
HB5700 in pdf formatClassification: Schedule 1
Penalty for Possession: Misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or a fine of not more than $2,000.00, or both.
Penalty for Use: Misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 6 months or a fine of not more than $500.00, or both.
General Links:State of Michigan web page for House Bill 5700Wikipedia's state by state legal statusAction Leader: JustAnotherRegularGuyOn February 12, 2008 Representative Michael Sak submitted
House Bill 5700, which proposes Schedule I classification of Salvia divinorum and salvinorin A in the state of Michigan.
Quick list of what has happened so far2/12/2008 HJ 12 Pg. 159 introduced by Representative Michael Sak
2/12/2008 HJ 12 Pg. 159 read a first time
2/12/2008 HJ 12 Pg. 159 referred to Committee on Health Policy
2/13/2008 HJ 13 Pg. 191 printed bill filed 02/13/2008
2/28/2008 HJ 20 Pg. 365 reported with recommendation without amendment(s)
Here is the "House Health Policy Committee's" report2/28/2008 HJ 20 Pg. 365 referred to second reading
3/5/2008 HJ 22 Pg. 392 read a second time
3/5/2008 HJ 22 Pg. 392 substitute H-1 adopted
3/5/2008 HJ 22 Pg. 392 placed on third reading
3/5/2008 HJ 22 Pg. 393 placed on immediate passage
3/5/2008 HJ 22 Pg. 393 read a third time
3/5/2008 HJ 22 Pg. 393 passed; given immediate effect Roll Call # 132
Yeas 106 Nays 03/5/2008 HJ 22 Pg. 393 title amended
3/5/2008 HJ 22 Pg. 393 transmitted
3/6/2008 SJ 24 Pg. 388 REFERRED TO SENATE'S COMMITTEE ON HEALTH POLICY
You can see there hasn't been any activity on the bill since March 6th. This doesn't mean Michigan is safe however. It means you need to help RIGHT NOW before the bill gets passed in the Senate and becomes law.
Take Action* First find out who your Representative and Senator isFind your RepresentativeFind your Senator* Then send letters to your state representativesYou can use or modify any of these letters or write your own.
If you write your own, some suggested key points are:
- Salvia is not a problem: No emergency room admittances, no drug counseling or addiction services admittances, no salvia related crime being reported by LEO, no superintendents speaking out against it. No deaths, and poison control rates it as a very low priority. Salvia has been around for a couple decades, or at least as long as the current meth plague--if salvia was going to be a widespread problem, it would have been by now.
- Medicinal and/or scientific potential
- Salvia is NOT a recreational substance and cannot be grouped with LSD, mushrooms, ecstasy, marijuana, etc. (ex: not addictive, short-acting, non-toxic, unappealing/unpleasant as a recreational substance)
- Religious use. History dating back thousands of years of indigenous use and decades of contemporary spiritual use. Without apparent harm or addictive tendencies.
- Arguments against rest almost exclusively on hearsay: unsubstantiated internet videos (search on alcohol and compare the number of videos), and the marketing claims of unscrupulous sellers.
- Suggest age restriction instead of an outright ban (give examples of this being done in Maine and California)
* Attend public hearingThis is the most effective way to take action against a ban. If you know about an upcoming date for a hearing please post it and it will be added here. Here is a list of all the Senate Committee Meetings within the next few weeks to see if the Senate "Health Policy" Committee will getting together (always current):
Michigan Committee Meetings*No scheduled public hearings yet
Public hearing tips:
- Good resource: http://www.ctkidslink.org/action_howtestify.html#anchor368848
- Do research in your own state. Go the your state DEA or Office of Substance Abuse website and dig around a bit. Find out how much it costs to arrest, prosecute, and jail per person for drugs crimes and include that figure in your arguments against a ban. For instance I found by going to The National Institue of Corrections Web Site that In 2001 it cost Michigan taxpayers an average of $32,525 a year to house an inmate. That is the 8th highest in the country!
If you want to be notified of any upcoming meetings or public hearings, just email the following clerks. All "Committee Meetings" are open to the public, however we can only speak at "Public Hearings":
House:
[email protected]Senate Health Policy Committee Clerk Holly Nester:
[email protected]Just send an email similar to the foillowing:
Good morning,
I am writing to request that I be notified when bill HB5700 is put on the committee agenda for discussion or is scheduled for a public hearing. I have a strong interest in this bill and would like to attend any such public hearings.
Thank You,
<Name>
<Address>
<Phone>
* Discourage irresponsible saleVisit your local smoke shops or send them letters to encourage them not to sell Salvia divinorum to minors and include safety information about using Salvia divinorum. You can print out a
User Guide (or part of it) to give to them.
Other useful informationHere are meeting minutes from the Senate "Health Policy" Committee to see if we missed anything. They just started getting together again Sep 10th after no activity for July and August:
Senate Committee Minutes and TestimonySpread the word:Send this page to a friend Feel free to send me a message or reply to this thread if you have any updated information. I will be updating it as I acquire more information. If you would like to be added to the email list I send out occasionally with updates send an email to MichSalvia [at] gmail.com.
JARG
