A day after a judge found a Lincoln business owner, accused of selling salvia illegally -- not guilty --the legislature pushed forward in changing the law.

"I feel this drug is not something we can't control. It needs to be controlled. There is no age limit on it. There is nothing to say it's illegal," said Sen. Russ Karpisek of Wilber.

Senators overwhelmingly agreed with Karpisek Tuesday, sending the bill onto the next round of consideration with a 44-0 vote.

Karpisek said the current legal status of the substance sends the message that it's OK to use it, and he said, "It's not OK."

But a UNL graduate with a background in science says he researched the drug extensively and strongly opposes a ban.

"I've read all the scientifc papers published about it. I've read all the studies that have been done on it and all the data suggests that it should not be illegal," said Steven Glaser.

Glaser spoke in opposition of a similar bill last year. He says he first became interested in the issue when he heard rumors about this hallucinogenic drug that wasn't illegal and wanted to know why it wasn't and what concerns people had with it.

Glaser says as a scientist, he likes to support issues with evidence and according to him, there's no evidence to prove salvia divinorum should be an illegal.

Steven Glaser says he's watched people try salvia and has tried it himself.

He says the drug, which is part of the sage family, is no more dangerous than alcohol.

"It should be similar to alcohol in the way it is enforced. People who are below 21 should not be able to buy it and other than that, I don't think there should really be many regulations on it," said Glaser.

But Center Pointe Clinical Director Michelle Nelson, disagrees with Glaser's comparison of salvia to alcohol, saying salvia poses a much higher risk to users.

"The information I have, I do think it's slightly different than alcohol effects due to the fact that they can be experiencing hallucinations and stuff without a lot of usage of it. I do have some concerns for it and how it will effect people," said Nelson.

For Karpisek, the concern is the effect salvia could have on curious kids looking for a quick high.

In his closing arguments to his colleagues Tuesday, he asked for senators to remember their children when voting on this bill.

"Please, think about our children when you think about this one. It's another gateway drug. I think that it will entice people to use the drug and see what it's like. Scary thought to me," said Karpisek.