POTENT HALLUCINOGEN SOLD LEGALLY

MALIBU A Mexican plant that contains the most powerful natural hallucinogen
known is being sold legally over the Internet and is drawing the interest of
medical researchers and law enforcement.

Anecdotal accounts of use of the herb, called Salvia divinorum, describe
hallucinogenic trips that make the user feel like an inanimate object or
worse. You've heard of watching paint dry how about feeling like paint
drying?

"I don't know anyone who has ever taken it and said, 'Gee, that was fun,' "
said Dr. Ethan Russo, a Missoula, Mont., clinical neurologist and expert on
psychotropic herbs.

The plant's effects can vary from mild to extreme, making even regular users
wary.

Experts said interest in the plant, a member of the sage family, springs
from its use as a ritual herb by an Indian tribe near Oaxaca, Mexico. Other
hallucinogens, like the South American brew ayahuasca, have similar
followings.

"People get captivated with the idea of using hallucinogens as a way of
connecting with the spiritual world as used in indigenous cultures," said
Jim Miller, curator and head of the applied research department at the
Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis.

For now, the hallucinogenic plant is legal and is commercially grown in its
native Mexico, as well as in California and Hawaii. However, the Drug
Enforcement Administration is reviewing it.

"We are gathering information on it to see if it needs to be controlled,"
said Rogene Waite, a DEA spokeswoman in Washington.

How Salvia divinorum produces its hallucinogenic effects is unknown, since
its active component, Salvinorin A, does not work on any neurotransmitter
sites affected by other hallucinogens, including THC, the active component
of marijuana. Nor does it contain nitrogen, which makes Salvinorin A unusual
as a psychoactive molecule.

"We don't know much about its toxicity we just don't know much about it,
other than the experiences that many report, which don't sound very
pleasant," said Dr. Alan Trachtenberg, who works for the substance abuse
office within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

No federal laws govern the plants, even though, by weight, the active
component of Salvia divinorum is more powerful than that found in peyote,
psilocybin mushrooms or any other natural hallucinogen, Russo said.

There is no evidence that use of the hallucinogen is increasing, according
to the federal Center for Substance Abuse Treatment in Rockville, Md. Nor do
drug treatment experts report problems with people abusing the
little-studied plant.

"We don't know much about treating it because we don't have people showing
up with an addiction to it," said Trachtenberg.

Indeed, most who do try it apparently never repeat the experience, doctors
said.

"It's not pleasant in anyone's conception that I have ever spoken with,"
Russo said.

The drug's effects last anywhere from a few minutes to an hour and more.
During that time, users can lose all perception of reality. Salvia users and
foes alike emphasize it should never be taken while alone.

"It seems to be something that completely alters and not in a completely
happy direction people's consciousness," Trachtenberg said.

Traditionally, the leaves of the plant are chewed by Mexico's Mazatec
Indians during ritual ceremonies to produce mild hallucinations.

In contemporary use, however, users exploit the plant's potency by smoking
its dried leaves or ingesting extracts in tincture form, which boost its
effect by allowing it to be more readily absorbed by the body.

When taken in that way, Salvia divinorum can produce extremely intense
hallucinations.

Daniel Siebert, an amateur botanist in Malibu who grows, sells and uses the
plant, collects subjective "trip" reports on a Web site. He said users can
feel as if they have merged with inanimate objects. One person reported
feeling like fresh paint as it was spread on a wall.

"It's definitely not something people can do very often, because the effects
are very profound," said Siebert, 40, who uses the plant every two months on
average.

Russo, the clinical neurologist, said he hoped the drug was not outlawed,
saying that it was possible Salvia and Salvinorin A can lead to a better
understanding of neural chemistry.

On the Net: www.sagewisdom.org