A Bismarck man believed to be the first in the country charged for possession of salvia has been given a deferred sentence.

Kenneth Rau, 47, pleaded guilty to Class Cfelony possession of salvia, Class Amisdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia and Class Bmisdemeanor possession of marijuana on Tuesday morning at the Burleigh County Courthouse.

South Central District Judge Tom Schneider imposed a three-year deferred imposition of sentence for the salvia and drug paraphernalia charges and a two-year deferred imposition of sentence for the marijuana charge. Rau will be on supervised probation for three years, and the charges will be removed from his record if he successfully completes his time on supervision.

The 2007 North Dakota Legislature made salvia divinorum and its active ingredient, salvinorin A, a schedule one narcotic. Salvia divinorum, a perennial herb, is native to Mexico and related to other varieties of salvia, which are common garden plants. While salvia divinorum has hallucinogenic effects when chewed or smoked, other varieties of salvia are not known to have such effects.

North Dakota is among several states that have made salvia divinorum illegal, though neither it nor salvinorin A are controlled under the federal Controlled Substances Act.

Police assisting parole and probation officers in a search for Rau's son, who was on probation, spotted drug paraphernalia in Rau's bedroom on April 7, 2008. During a search of the bedroom, they found salvia leaves, Burleigh County Assistant State's Attorney Cynthia Feland said.

She said officers did not initially know what the substance, which resembled marijuana, was, but it was labeled "salvia," she said. Testing at the state crime lab confirmed the leaves were those of the newly illegal substance, Feland said.

Rau originally was charged with possession of salvia with intent to deliver, but that charge was reduced to drop the intent to deliver portion upon further research of the substance, Rau's attorney, Ben Pulkrabek, said.

Feland recommended a deferred sentence on the salvia charge and suspended sentences for the marijuana charges. She said Rau has no recent criminal history, no history of prior drug use and bought the salvia over the Internet before its illegal status in North Dakota was widely known.

"Salvia is a relatively new drug having been added to the controlled substance list," she said.

Pulkrabek recommended deferred sentences on all three counts, due to Rau's criminal history.

Schneider ordered Rau to complete a chemical dependency evaluation and any recommended treatment and pay $575 in court fees.

After the hearing, Rau said he was not surprised at the type of sentence he got.

"It's kind of what I expected,"he said. "I didn't think I would get any better from a jury trial."

He still believes salvia should not have been made illegal by the state without more research and thinks the plant could have medicinal uses.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)