Legislature(2011 - 2012)CAPITOL 120
03/07/2011 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB76 | |
| HB153 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 76 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 153 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 153 - CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES
1:47:29 PM
VICE CHAIR THOMPSON announced that the final order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 153, "An Act relating to the scheduling
and rescheduling of certain substances as controlled
substances."
1:47:49 PM
REID HARRIS, Staff, Representative Kyle Johansen, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of the sponsor, Representative Johansen,
mentioned that similar legislation has been introduced in prior
years, and explained that Section 1 of HB 153 would add two new
substances - Salvia divinorum, and Salvinorin A (Divinorin A) -
to the list of schedule IIA controlled substances in AS
11.71.150. Salvia divinorum is the name of a particular plant,
a perennial herb in the mint family indigenous to southern
Mexico but capable of being grown pretty much anywhere, and
Salvinorin A (Divinorin A) is the active ingredient derived from
that plant. In fact, Salvinorin A (Divinorin A) is, by weight,
the most potent naturally-occurring hallucinogen known.
Information from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
indicates that some of the effects of Salvia divinorum include
perceptions of bright lights, vivid colors, shapes, body
movement, and body or object distortions; an inducement of fear
and panic; uncontrollable laughter; a sense of overlapping
realities; other hallucinations; [loss of coordination;
dizziness; and slurred speech].
MR. HARRIS noted that neither Salvia divinorum nor Salvinorin A
(Divinorin A) have been scheduled by the DEA yet, though it has
added them to its "diversion list." As of September 2010, 24
states and 20 countries have [taken steps to control) Salvia
divinorum, either banning it outright or banning its sale to
minors or doing both to some extent. Salvia divinorum's
pharmaceutical effects are still being studied - it has been
used in Mexico for thousands of years, though its use as a
recreational drug in the United States is very recent - and its
long-term effects aren't yet known, though it may have some
value in reducing gastrointestinal disease and in drug treatment
therapy. Under HB 153, only the recreational use of Salvia
divinorum and Salvinorin A (Divinorin A) would be outlawed, not
medical research. A number of videos of people using Salvia
divinorum are available on the Internet, he relayed, and the
drug's use has become very popular among young people; on those
videos, users "wig out and then pass out for about five minutes,
and then wake up and kind of go, 'What happened?'" The average
user is between 18 and 25 years old, though some users are as
young as 12, and the drug can be purchased at local stores in
Alaska.
MR. HARRIS explained that Sections 2 and 3 of HB 153 would move
buprenorphine from the list of schedule VA controlled substances
in AS 11.71.180, to the list of schedule IIIA controlled
substances in AS 11.71.160. Buprenorphine is a semi-synthetic
opioid used in lower doses to treat addicts and to control
moderate pain in non-opioid-tolerant individuals, but it also,
much like other opioids, has a high potential for abuse. This
proposed change is anticipated to increase buprenorphine's
enforceability, and was added at the request of law enforcement
because of a recent increase in its abuse.
MR. HARRIS noted that at one point, the sponsor had considered
only making it illegal to sell Salvia divinorum and Salvinorin A
(Divinorin A) to minors, but then, after seeing videos of users
and how seriously the drug affects them, decided to address the
issue via an outright ban, listing it in the same schedule as
other hallucinogens.
1:58:53 PM
ORIN DYM, Forensic Laboratory Supervisor, Scientific Crime
Detection Laboratory, Office of the Commissioner, Department of
Public Safety (DPS), in response to a question, indicated that
the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory ("Crime Lab") has
expertise in detecting the presence of the substances listed in
the bill.
2:00:32 PM
RODNEY DIAL, Lieutenant, Deputy Commander, A Detachment,
Division of Alaska State Troopers, Department of Public Safety
(DPS), said that the DPS supports HB 153 primarily because
without its proposed changes, law enforcement could have
difficulty charging drivers under the influence of such
substances with driving under the influence (DUI).
2:01:30 PM
VIKI WELLS, Behavioral Health Specialist, Southcentral Regional
Team, Treatment & Recovery Section, Division of Behavioral
Health (DBH), Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS),
relayed that Salvia divinorum and Salvinorin A (Divinorin A)
have been advertised on the Internet as legal alternatives to
lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and mescaline that can produce
an out of body experience. Because tests to determine the
presence of these substances have only recently become
available, there hasn't been much in the way of detection or
reporting by grantees of substance-use-disorder programs. She
surmised that it could be difficult to control salvia because,
as a plant, its cuttings are easily available on the Internet,
it's relatively inexpensive, and it's easily grown - in fact, in
some states, it's grown as a decorative plant. With regard to
buprenorphine, she explained that it's primarily used for the
treatment of opioid addiction, and sometimes for pain. Its
abuse, nationally, has been a growing problem, and considering
the prevalence of opioid addiction in Alaska, she predicted that
it would continue to be a growing problem here as well. In
conclusion, she offered her understanding that treating
buprenorphine as a schedule IIIA controlled substance, as the
bill proposes, would mirror how the federal government treats
it.
2:06:30 PM
DOUGLAS MOODY, Deputy Director, Criminal Division, Central
Office, Public Defender Agency (PDA), Department of
Administration (DOA), noting that buprenorphine is used for the
treatment of opioid addiction, offered his understanding that
heroin abuse constitutes the State's biggest opioid problem. In
response to questions, he said that he is unaware of there
currently being a problem with people becoming addicted to
buprenorphine; that although under current law, some controlled
substances are listed in more than one schedule depending on the
amount, he is unable to say whether the same approach ought to
be taken with buprenorphine; and that it seems that the
hallucinogens Salvia divinorum and Salvinorin A (Divinorin A)
are short-acting compared with other hallucinogens.
MR. DYM, in response to a question, indicated that it's not
anticipated that HB 153 would have a fiscal impact on the Crime
Lab.
VICE CHAIR THOMPSON, after ascertaining that no one else wished
to testify, closed public testimony on HB 153, and announced
that HB 153 would be held over.