HALLUCINOGEN GAINS POPULARITY, PROMPTING LEGISLATION TO BAN IT

Used By Shamans In Mexico, It Is Sold In Some U.S. Stores

Some young people are turning on, tuning in and dropping out for
quick highs on a hallucinogenic drug that is legal and sold openly at
novelty stores, smoke shops and adult video stores.

But some state lawmakers say the substance, salvia divinorum, is
dangerous and they have proposed a bill to ban possessing or selling it.

"From what I understand, this drug is at least as dangerous as
marijuana or LSD," said Rep. John Lim, R-Gresham, who is sponsoring a
bill that would make the plant a Schedule I controlled substance in
Oregon, on par with Ecstasy or synthetic heroin. "This drug is not a
widely used product, but it is becoming problematic."

Used for centuries by the shamans, or healers, among Mazatec Indians
of Oaxaca, Mexico, in religious and healing rituals, experts say use
is on the rise in the U.S., driven largely by Internet sales and word of mouth.

The drug's Latin name, salvia divinorum, means "sage of the seers."
Users call it Purple Sticky Salvia, Maria Pastora or Sally D.

"It is basically appealing to young kids because it is not illegal to
possess in the state of Oregon," said Tim Plummer, a coordinator for
Oregon's drug evaluation and classification program.

One Portland retailer is selling a half-gram package, said to be good
for five "experiences," for $15.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has listed it and its active
constituent, salvinorin A, as "drugs and chemicals of concern." The
agency is still investigating patterns of abuse and potential risks
for the public.

Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Delaware ban possession,
but it is legal under federal law.

At least nine other states are considering bans, including Alaska,
California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota
and Utah. The plant is controlled in Finland, Denmark, Australia and Italy.

A 1994 study in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology described users who
felt as though they were being turned into "yellow plaid French
fries, fresh paint, a drawer, a pant leg, a Ferris wheel."

"It sounds cheesy but I felt like the room I was in turned into an
accordion and I couldn't move," said Meara Fleming of Eugene, 20, who
said she has tried the drug once.

She said some users "go to another world. My experience was I didn't
visually hallucinate. It was just a really, really intense body high
where I felt kind of immobile."

Experts and users say the effects can last as long as an hour.

At the Silver Spoon, a shop in Portland that hawks glass water pipes
and sex toys, salvia is a strong seller.

"It has been out for a long, long time and it's just getting
popular," said Jeremy Croft, a salesman. "Maybe all the high school
and college kids just found out about it."

Although the drug's effects on users are catalogued in detail on Web
sites such as Erowid.org, an online library of psychoactive plants
and chemicals, few toxicological studies have been done.

"It's not toxic as far as we know," said Bryan Roth, a professor of
pharmacology at the University of North Carolina's School of
Medicine. "But it's dangerous in the sense that when people take it
they are disoriented. It's not the sort of thing you would want to
smoke while you are driving."

Roth, who is an expert on the plant, said there is no evidence that
it is addictive.