Philip Emanuel took a hit of salvia, held the smoke in his lungs for a
few moments and then let it escape his lips.

"Oooh, it works!" he said mere seconds later, his eyes wide.
Beforehand, Emanuel explained that a salvia trip produces "the most
dissociative effect you can possibly have."

He just might have been correct. For the next five minutes, the
sophomore moved and spoke as though spirits had passed through his
hookah's tubes and seized control of his body.

He spoke gibberish between fits of uncontrollable laughter and was
unable to respond coherently to anyone. When he tried to stand, he
staggered and then looked around with astonishment as if he were
seeing the world for the first time.

"I will not admit any doings of any kind," he said, a statement he
wouldn't recall making only minutes later.

After about five minutes had passed and the most intense segment was
behind him, sweat beads covered Emanuel's face, though the temperature
was a windy 45 degrees.

Emanuel had smoked salvia divinorum extract, a legal hallucinogen
available at head shops nationwide.

Historically, Mazatec Indians, who lived in southern Mexico, consumed
salvia for spiritual purposes; indeed, salvia is often referred to as
the "sage of the seers."

"The active ingredient is salvinorin-A, the most active, naturally
occurring hallucinogen," said Bryan Roth, a professor of pharmacology
at UNC's School of Medicine.

In 2002 Roth helped discover how salvia influences the brain. He said
it only affects a single brain receptor - the kappa opiate receptor.

"Here you have this drug that has a profound effect on the brain, and
it only affects a single receptor out of hundreds," Roth said.

He said this indicates that the receptor alters consciousness, which
means studying it could be helpful for treating mental illnesses such
as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease.

But what does it feel like when salvia activates your kappa opiate
receptor?

"It felt like my head was in a box and some outside force was moving
it around and determining my viewpoint," Emanuel said as the effects
wound down.

"It's like tunnel vision. You only see one thing at a time, but each
time you look at something you get a different feeling; you feel what
you are looking at."

He stood up and looked down at his hookah and said the distance had
become distorted.

"Right now it seems like it's a mile away from my face," he said. It
was no more than six inches away.

Emanuel also said he was unable to process sounds made by himself or
others.

Despite its potency, salvia remains legal in most states, including
North Carolina.

Sophomore Sara Thomas, an employee at the head shop Hazmat Inc., said
salvia is a popular item because of its legality.

The plant costs $80 for one gram at 20x strength at Hazmat. Potencies
at the store range from 5x to 20x . Emanuel used about a third of a
gram in one sitting.

Roth, however, said he doesn't think it will remain uncontrolled.

"The only reason it's legal is that it hasn't yet been made illegal,"
Roth said. He added that most people he talked to did not enjoy their
experience because of its intensity.

Thomas said her manager had smoked the plant and said he would rather
"bang his head against a wall than do salvia again."

Emanuel, on the other hand, described his experience as pleasant.

"During your trip, you have to realize on an instinctual level that
you're OK," he said. "There's no reason to be afraid; it's an
illogical fear and paranoia."

From a health perspective, little is known about salvia. However, Roth
said there are no signs it's addictive and that one formal study in
rodents found no overt toxicity.

Roth advised against consuming salvia because "if you are in a
disoriented condition you can get yourself into some trouble."

Many mistakenly view salvia as legal marijuana or legal LSD.

"Salvia's structure is very different," Roth said.

"It's completely unique."