EXPERTS - SALVIA DIVINORUM NOT PROMINENT IN CARROLL

Since several incidents in 2005, Salvia divinorum hasn't been
prominent in Carroll County, according to drug professionals.

In October 2005, a store on Bond Street in Westminster called Heads N
Threads was raided and the owner and an employee were arrested on
charges of selling and possessing drug paraphernalia.

The raid was prompted by publicity surrounding Salvia and after
several suspects in drug cases were reported to have bought drug
paraphernalia at the store.

Salvia divinorum was banned in county schools in May
2005.

The herb is legal in Maryland but is illegal in Louisiana and
regulated in Delaware and Missouri, among other states.

George Butler, a drug investigator for the Carroll County State's
Attorney's Office, said he hasn't heard much about the herb in
Carroll or even in Maryland since the raid on Heads N Threads.

It seems to be more of a fringe drug in the county right now, Butler
said.

Mark Yount, a substance abuse prevention coordinator at Junction
Inc., an organization that provides drug abuse prevention and
treatment programs, said he believes that while Salvia divinorum is
present in the county, it's not common.

Yount said he hears about Salvia occasionally, but it's not nearly as
commonly abused as alcohol, marijuana or prescription drugs such as
OxyContin or Vicodin.