Editing Tim Burchett (section)

=== Proposal of salvia ban ===
{{see also|Legal status of Salvia divinorum}}
Burchett sponsored a bill in 2006 to make illegal "possessing, producing, manufacturing, distributing, or possessing with intent to produce, manufacture, or distribute the active chemical ingredient in the hallucinogenic plant ''[[Salvia divinorum]]'' in the state of Tennessee."<ref name=Salvialaw>{{cite web|date=May 2006|title=Senate Bill No. 3247; An Act to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 4, relative to certain hallucinogenic plants|work=Public Acts 2006, Chapter 700 |url=http://tennessee.gov/sos/acts/104/pub/pc0700.pdf|publisher=General Assembly of the State of Tennessee|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071004232218/http://tennessee.gov/sos/acts/104/pub/pc0700.pdf|archive-date=October 4, 2007}}</ref> He said, "We have enough problems with illegal drugs as it is without people promoting getting high from some glorified weed that's been brought up from Mexico. The only people I’ve heard from who are opposed to making it illegal are those who are getting stoned on it."<ref name=NashvilleBureau>{{cite journal|author=Nashville Bureau Reporter |date=April 2006|title=The Senate passed (290–0) SB 3247 |volume=8|issue=32|publisher=Nashville Bureau}}</ref> The bill was signed into law on May 19, 2006, and went into effect on July 1, 2006.<ref name=Salvialaw/> Burchett originally wanted to make violations a [[felony]] offense, but the bill was amended during its passage to make it a Class A [[misdemeanor]].<ref name=SiebertLegalStatus>{{cite web |last=Siebert |first=Daniel |title=The Legal Status of Salvia divinorum |publisher=The Salvia divinorum Research and Information Center |url=http://www.sagewisdom.org/legalstatus.html |access-date=March 4, 2007}}</ref>

In a news report published shortly before the signing of the bill by Governor [[Phil Bredesen]], Burchett was quoted as saying, "it's not that popular but I'm one of those who believes in closing the barn door before the cows get out.... in certain hands, it could be very dangerous, even lethal."<ref name=ORourke2006>{{cite news|last=O'Rourke|first=Shea|title=Smoking Out – Tennessee bill bans hallucinogenic herb salvia|url=http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=oid%3A16106|work=Memphis Flyer|date=May 24, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614015638/http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=oid:16106|archive-date=June 14, 2011 |url-status=live|access-date=September 9, 2008}}</ref> A store owner who had stopped selling the herb due to Burchett's bill said that he saw little point in banning salvia, "I have no idea why it's being outlawed. It's a sage. People in South America have been using it for years and years." The same report also gave the general counterargument of salvia proponents that legislation banning ''Salvia divinorum'' reflects a cultural bias, as there are fewer prohibitions on more addictive substances such as alcohol and nicotine, and questioned how effective the bill will be, pointing out that ''Salvia divinorum'' has no odor and is easy to grow, so enforcement will be difficult.<ref name=ORourke2006/>