HALLUCINOGENIC MINT DRAWS WARNING

GREENSBORO -- A hallucinogenic type of mint widely -- and legally --
available for purchase on the Internet has caught the attention of the
Partnership for a Drug Free NC.

The organization, which works to reduce the negative effect of
substance abuse and mental illness, is trying to persuade state
legislators to pass laws similar to those in such states as Delaware
and Tennessee, where the plant is illegal.

Local law enforcement agencies, drug treatment centers, and school
resource officers, however, said they have seen no evidence of
Guilford County residents using salvia divinorum.

The plant is native to Mexico and is said to have effects similar to
LSD. Historically, it has been used in tribal rituals.

The federal Drug Enforcement Agency lists salvia, which is also known
as "ska pastora" and "shepherdess's herb," as a "drug or chemical of
concern," but it is not a controlled substance.

"Obviously, selling it is not going to be illegal, but it is a
hallucinogenic," said Arch Embler , the community liaison for the
Guilford County Sheriff's Office.

"So if anybody is stopped because they have been driving funny and
they are found to have some of the substance in the car with them and
they fail a field sobriety test, they would certainly be arrested,"
Embler said.

Robin Lindner , spokeswoman for the Partnership for a Drug Free NC,
said because salvia is unregulated, no statistics exist on its use but
"we obviously want parents to know what their kids could be into."

The plant's dried leaves, sometimes fortified with more of its
hallucinogenic compound, salvinorin A , is for sale on the Internet at
sites advertising marijuana alternatives and drug paraphernalia but
also on sites promoting meditation and introspection.

"Web sites are pushing this drug, and we can't even call it a drug,"
Lindner said.