DEA CHECKS INTO HERBAL HALLUCINOGEN

MALIBU, Calif. -- 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.

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.

"We are gathering information on it to see if it needs to be controlled,"
said Rogene Waite, a Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman in Washington.