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.