January 23, 2008 - 2 Years Gone

I can't believe it's been two years since I've seen my sweet boy's face. Some days it feels like forever, some day it seems like just yesterday. I console myself with the fact that the last memory I have of us together, the very last minute, was the two of us standing in the dining room, hugging, and me telling him how much I loved him, and he telling me the same. If I had to write my last moment with Brett I guess I couldn't top how it actually occurred. So, for that, I am eternally grateful. I think of all the parents, one of whom I know, who left their kids off at school, or a friend's house, or wherever, and they've had a fight and many angry words have been exchanged. What parent doesn't know that scenario. They leave in silence or one slams the door or one of them finishes with one parting shot at the other. How horrible that must be, and it's something that can never be taken back or changed. So, I thank the Lord every day, that my last memory of Brett is such a wonderful one. He knew at that last moment, as he did his entire life, that his mom loved him with every ounce of her being. Without him being here, that's really my lasting comfort.

MORE SALVIA NEWS: Thanks I hope in part to my efforts, 2 more states (California and Virginia) have begun the process of regulating Salvia in their states. Both asked me for a letter about Brett's life, what he was like and how Salvia changed him. They loved the letter and it was read before their legislature, as I couldn't be there to do it personally. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to fly wherever and whenever I was needed but that's just not a possibility. I think it is so important to put a name and face to this tragedy, but it's just not feasible to be able to do that each time a bill comes up for vote.

Below is info on the VA bill: (California's passed unanimously out of the House and will now go to the Senate. It's a very watered down version of "Brett's Law" but in such a liberal state as California just getting a bill as such on the records is an achievement. )

A bill to ban salvia divinorum unanimously passed in the Virginia House of Delegates this week, bringing the currently legal drug one step closer to strict regulation.
Salvia is a powerful hallucinogen - some say as strong as LSD. It's the subject of thousands of YouTube.com videos showing bong-smoking teens "tripping" on the substance.
A species of the mint family, salvia can be legally purchased over the Internet or from specialty shops. The dried leaves are available in various degrees of potency, and people smoke them for a high that can last a few minutes or up to half an hour.
Delegate John O'Bannon, (R-Henrico), who is also a neurosurgeon, introduced the bill to outlaw salvia after receiving suggestions from law enforcement officials.
"It's really not a pleasant thing to take. It can cause bad trips, dysphoria and sweats," O'Bannon said. Dysphoria is a general feeling of physical discomfort, anxiety and discontent.
On Tuesday, delegates voted 98-0 in favor of O'Bannon's legislation, House Bill 21. The bill will now go on to the Virginia Senate for consideration. It has been referred to the Senate Committee on Education and Health.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, salvia causes hallucinations, a perception of overlapping realities and a loss of body, dizziness and impaired speech.
The plant, which is native to the province of Oaxaca in Mexico, is not regulated on the federal level, but at least seven states have salvia laws on the books. For centuries, the Mazatec Indians of southern Mexico have used salvia in shamanistic rituals.
More recently, salvia has proliferated on the Internet and at college-area paraphernalia shops.
"I think the Internet has actually driven this. I think the Internet is one of the reasons why it's actually spread out of the local indigenous areas in Mexico, where it's been around forever," said O'Bannon.
His bill would make salvia a Schedule I hallucinogen. This would place the substance in the same class of penalties as LSD, PCP, Ecstasy and cannabis.
O'Bannon said salvia potentially has harmful effects, citing the suicide of Brett Chidester, a Delaware teenager whose parents blame salvia for their son's suicide. Delaware has since banned the substance.