Daniel J. Siebert was an ethnobotanist, pharmacognosist, and author who lived in Southern California. [1]
Siebert studied Salvia divinorum for over twenty years. Based on self-experiments with friends in 1993, [2] he was the first person to unequivocally identify salvinorin A as the active psychoactive compound in Salvia divinorum. [1] [3] [4] In 1998, Siebert appeared in the documentary Sacred Weeds shown in the United Kingdom. [1] He was interviewed about Salvia divinorum on National Public Radio, [5] Fox News, CNN, [6] Telemundo and his comments have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and The New York Times. [1]
In 2002, Siebert wrote a letter to the United States Congress in which he objected to bill H.R. 5607 introduced by Rep. Joe Baca (D-California) which sought to place Salvia divinorum in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. [7]