LAWMAKERS TARGET HALLUCINOGENIC PLANT

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. - On Web sites touting the mind-blowing powers of
Salvia divinorum, come-ons to buy the hallucinogenic herb are
accompanied by warnings: "Time is running out!" and "stock up while
you still can." That's because salvia is being targeted by lawmakers
concerned that the inexpensive and easy-to-obtain plant could become
the next marijuana.

Eight states have already placed restrictions on salvia, and 16
others, including Florida, are considering a ban or have previously.

North Carolina is not among them. "As soon as we make one drug
illegal, kids start looking around for other drugs they can buy legally.

This is just the next one," said Florida state Rep. Mary Brandenburg,
who has introduced a bill to make possession of salvia a felony
punishable by up to five years in prison. Some say legislators are
overreacting to a minor problem, but no one disputes that the plant
impairs judgment and the ability to drive. Native to Mexico and still
grown there, Salvia divinorum is generally smoked but can also be
chewed or made into a tea and drunk. Called nicknames like Sally-D,
Magic Mint and Diviner's Sage, salvia is a hallucinogen that gives
users an out-of-body sense of traveling through time and space or
merging with inanimate objects.

Unlike hallucinogens like LSD or PCP, however, salvia's effects last
for a shorter time, generally up to an hour. Salvia divinorum is not
one of the several varieties of common ornamental garden plants known
as Salvia.

No known deaths have been attributed to salvia's use, but it was
listed as a factor in one Delaware teen's suicide two years ago.
"Parents, I would say, are pretty clueless," said Jonathan Appel, an
assistant professor of psychology and criminal justice at Tiffin
University in Ohio who has studied the emergence of the substance.
"It's much more powerful than marijuana."

It's hard to say how widespread the use of salvia is. Because it is
legal in most states, law enforcement officials don't compile
statistics. A study released last month by the U.S. Department of
Health & Human Services found just under 2 percent of people age 18 to
25 surveyed in 2006 reported using salvia in the past year. A 2007
survey of more than 1,500 San Diego State University students found
that 4 percent of participants reported using salvia in the past year.