Tim Burchett

Tim Burchett is a Republican Tennessee state senator from Knoxville, Tennessee, representing District 7, part of Knox County. He was previously a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives. Currently, he is the only candidate that has announced his intentions to run for Mayor of Knox County in 2010.

Senator Tim Burchett married Allison Beaver in a ceremony performed by the Governor of Tennessee Phil Bredesen in Knoxville on June 17, 2008.

Public policy

Salvia divinorum

Senator Tim 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." Burchett stated, "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."

The bill was signed into law on May 19, 2006 and went into effect on July 1, 2006. Burchett originally wanted to make it a felony offence, but the bill was amended during its passage to make it a Class A misdemeanor.

In a news report published shortly before the signing of the bill by Governor Phil Bredesen, Tim 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."

A store owner who had stopped selling it due to Burchett's bill, said 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 odour and is easy to grow, so enforcement will be difficult.

"Roadkill"

In 1999, Burchett received national media attention for sponsoring a bill that legalized the eating of road kill, or animals killed by vehicles.

See also

• Legal status of Salvia divinorum
• Roadkill cuisine

Notes

1. ^ The worldwide number of alcohol related deaths is calculated at over 2,000 people per day, in the US the number is over 300 deaths per day.
2. ^ Those advocating consideration of Salvia divinorum's potential for beneficial use in a modern context argue that more could be learned from Mazatec culture, where Salvia is not really associated with notions of drug taking at all and it is rather considered as a spiritual sacrament. In light of this it is argued that Salvia divinorum could be better understood more positively as an entheogen rather than pejoratively as a hallucinogen.

References

• Brett Blosser: Lessons in The Use of Mazatec Psychoactive Plants. The Salvia divinorum Research and Information Center, abgerufen am 19. Oktober 2007. 
• Burchett, Tim: Senate Bill No. 3247. (pdf) In: Public Acts 2006, Chapter 700. General Assembly of the State on Tennessee, Mai 2006, abgerufen am 10. Januar 2008. 
• Lopez, Alan D: The evolution of the Global Burden of Disease framework for disease, injury and risk factor quantification: developing the evidence base for national, regional and global public health action. In: Globalization and Health. 1. Jahrgang, Nr. 5. BioMed Central Ltd, April 2005, S. 5, doi:10.1186/1744-8603-1-5, PMID 15847690 (globalizationandhealth.com).  - Table 2. Global burden of disease and injury attributable to selected risk factors, 1990.
• MiSP: Follow the Money. In: database search. The National Institute on Money in State Politics, 2006, abgerufen am 16. Oktober 2007. 
• Nashville Bureau Reporter: The Senate passed (290-0) SB 3247. 8. Jahrgang, Nr. 32. Nashville Bureau, April 2006. 
• NIAAA: Number of deaths and age-adjusted death rates per 100,000 population for categories of alcohol-related (A-R) mortality, United States and States, 1979-96. In: Database Resources / Statistical Tables. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), August 2001, abgerufen am 20. Oktober 2007. 
• Vorlage:Citation
• Shea O'Rourke: Smoking Out - Tennessee bill bans hallucinogenic herb salvia, Memphis Flyer, 24. Mai 2006 
• Daniel Siebert: The Legal Status of Salvia divinorum. The Salvia divinorum Research and Information Center, abgerufen am 4. März 2007. 

External links

• Senate Member Tim Burchett. The Tennessee General Assembly, abgerufen am 12. September 2008. 
• Follow the Money. In: Tennessee/Burchett. The National Institute on Money in State Politics, abgerufen am 12. September 2008.