Business Owners Warned that Selling Salvia Divinorum Now Illegal September 23, 2008 From: Office of the Attorney General    Filed 9/23/08 GCN Jackson, MS- Attorney General Jim Hood  sends  warning  to Mississippi business owners that  it is no longer legal to sell Salvia Divinorum, a small leafy green plant known for its strong psychedelic effects.  "We looked into a complaint from a mother in Rankin County that a particular store had this plant on the shelf," said Attorney General Hood. "It turns out local law enforcement had just raided the store and took all of the salvia stock.  The business owner claimed he was unaware that it was now against the law to sell salvia." As of July 1, 2008, a new state law makes Salvia Divinorum a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance, possession of which can result in felony charges.  "Many local law enforcement officers are going around and removing salvia from stores within their respective jurisdictions," said Attorney General Hood.  "If the stores have the product, they are given a warning and notified of the recent changes in the law.  If they are caught a second time, they will face charges." Salvia Divinorum is found primarily in the Mazateca region of Mexico.  It was first discovered in the late 1930's by a group of anthropologists stying medicinal and magical cures in Mexico.  The plant was rediscovered in the early 1990's by the global underground psychedelic culture and has grown over the years in popularity in the United States.  The plant is only recently beginning to be outlawed in states such as Mississippi, Delaware, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and Tennessee.