Mary Brandenburg (born May 12, 1949) is an American politician in the state of Florida. She was a representative in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

between 2002 and 2010.

Early life

Brandenburg was born on May 12, 1949, in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

. She moved to Florida in 1957. She received her AA degree from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in 1969 before attending

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderd ...

where she received her BA in 1972 and her MBA in 1980. She lives in

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...

, with her husband, Pete Brandenburg.

Political career

Brandenburg was first elected as a representative in the

in the 2002 general election.

Political positions

Equality in adoption rights

Brandenburg has continually pushed for equality in Florida's adoption laws and has filed legislation to allow gay residents to adopt since 2007.

Salvia divinorum

In March 2008, it was reported that Brandenburg and Senator

Evelyn Lynn Evelyn J. Lynn is a Republican Party member of the Florida Senate, representing the 7th District since 2003. Her district includes parts of Clay County, Marion County, Putnam County, and Volusia County, Florida. Previously she was a member of ...

had proposed bills to make possession of ''Salvia divinorum'' a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. ''

Salvia divinorum ''Salvia divinorum'' (Latin: "sage of the diviners"; also called ska maría pastora, seer's sage, yerba de la pastora, magic mint or simply salvia) is a plant species with transient psychoactive properties when its leaves are consumed by che ...

'' is a psychoactive herb which can induce strong

dissociative Dissociatives, colloquially dissos, are a subclass of hallucinogens which distort perception of sight and sound and produce feelings of detachment – dissociation – from the environment and/or self. Although many kinds of drugs are capable of ...

effects. It has a long continuing tradition of use as an

entheogen Entheogens are psychoactive substances that induce alterations in perception, mood (psychology), mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior for the purposes of engendering spiritual development or otherwiseRätsch, Christian, ''The Encyclop ...

by indigenous

Mazatec The Mazatec are an indigenous people of Mexico who inhabit the Sierra Mazateca in the state of Oaxaca and some communities in the adjacent states of Puebla and Veracruz. Language family The Mazatecan languages are part of the Popolocan family wh ...

shamans Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

, who use it to facilitate visionary states of consciousness during spiritual healing sessions. Salvia's sale and possession is currently illegal in a number of other American states and some other countries. Brandenburg's House bill number was HB 1363. Lynn's Senate bill was SB340. There was also SB1612. All bills proposed including ''Salvia divinorum'' & Salvinorin A on Florida's Schedule I list of controlled substances. Brandenburg's bill was passed unanimously and became law on July 1, 2008. The bill provides an exception for medical use approved by the FDA.Florida Legislature: SB 1612 (2008)
/ref> Opponents of prohibitive Salvia restrictions argue that such reactions are largely due to an inherent prejudice and a particular cultural bias rather than any actual balance of evidence, pointing out inconsistencies in attitudes toward other more toxic and addictive drugs such as alcohol and nicotine. While not objecting to some form of regulatory legal control, in particular with regard to the sale to minors or sale of enhanced high-strength extracts, most Salvia proponents otherwise argue against stricter legislation.

Notes

Citations

References

* * *
Table 2
Global burden of disease and injury attributable to selected risk factors, 1990. * * * * *

External links

Official Website of Representative Mary Brandenburg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandenburg, Mary University of Florida alumni 1949 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Women state legislators in Florida Florida Atlantic University alumni Politicians from Rochester, New York