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Europe: Russia Bans Salvia, Hawaiian Woodrose, Blue Lotus Flowers, Synthetic Cannabinoids

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #616)
Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy

The Russian government announced Thursday that it has added a number of substances to its controlled substance list and banned their sale. The substances include salvia divinorum, Hawaiian wood rose, Blue Lotus flowers, and 23 different synthetic cannabinoids. Many of the substances are used in "smoking mixes" by users seeking psychoactive effects.

salvia leaves (photo courtesy Erowid.org)
The ban had its genesis in a proposal by the Ministry of Public Health and Social Development last month. The ministry proposed tightening controls over the sale and consumption of smoking mixes and submitted its proposal to the government for coordination.

Salvia is already banned in a number of countries, including Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Japan, Spain, and Sweden. It is not illegal under US federal law, but its sales have been banned or restricted in about a dozen states. Synthetic cannabindoids, marketed under names like "K2" and "Spice" have been banned in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. A move is afoot in the Kansas legislature to ban them there.

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

undrgrndgirl (not verified)

aren't synthetic cannabinoids the stuff in marinol?? might ultimately be a *good* thing if they ARE banned...that might cause some problems for bigPharma...but you'd think the russians would have learned something from the u.s.'s failed war on drugs...especially considering the anti-soviet (and anti russian) component to the war on cannabis...

[email protected]

Fri, 01/15/2010 - 2:44pm Permalink
why would (not verified)

Salvia is being sold in some of the Head shops, was told it cost double the amount of high quality cannabis, while proving the same result legally. This doubled cost must be being taxed along with the t-shirts, and all sale items. Why would the broke State governments want to ban it when they are making money on it? Only the very well to do can afford to purchase it now, making it illegal will just give the drug cartels another profitable product.

Fri, 01/15/2010 - 3:39pm Permalink
Jean Boyd (not verified)

Russian government and all governments place themselves above nature. They are not doing this for the good of all people only for the good of themselves. These plants are healing plants but the medical industry does not want people to heal themselves as it was intended in nature. If we are not sick then we are not supporting pharma and medical institutions. Everything we have been told is a lie.

Fri, 01/15/2010 - 8:12pm Permalink
maxwood (not verified)

Recent good news that Medvedev was going to take on the Big Alcohol problem has its dark side: this attack on Salvia is a pay-off to Big 2WackGo. The $igarette industry likes alcohol because binge-drinking helps get youngsters hooked on nicotine, which they use to selfmedicate out of hangovers and study for the big Test to get into the Polytechnika which will make sick ol' Dad happy (after the disappearance of communist old-age care you need your kid to make lots of money). Needless to say Big 2WackGo does not like legalizing anything you can smoke besides Nicotiana tabacum.

In the 80's Gorbachev tried to suppress alcoholism and had the USSR shot out from under him by an "Iron Trinity" consortium of "Chesterfield is My Cigarette" Reagan, "Tobacco Institute" Thatcher and "Art Treasures of the Vatican sponsored by Philip Morris Corporation" John Paul II. I saw a website which listed Russia as currently depending on $igarette taxes for 8% of all govt. revenues (Pakistan is worst at 10%, but what do you expect at a Tobackgo Stand).

Sat, 01/16/2010 - 5:05pm Permalink

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