PARENTS, POLICE WORRIED ABOUT AREA YOUTH USING A LEGAL HALLUCINOGENIC PLANT

DAWSON CREEK - Parents and police are worried about teenagers using a
legal hallucinogenic plant called Salvia divinorum.

"There definitely has been some concern from parents in Dawson Creek
and Fort St. John specifically that this drug is out there and kids
have gotten hold of it," said RCMP Const. Grant Desmet. "It's a
concern because kids can buy it, and I think they buy it not
realizing that the effects are quite as serious as they are."

The effects are immediate and last only a few minutes.

But Desmet said the drug can potentially incapacitate users, distort
their perception of space and time, cause hallucinations and impair
their critical judgment.

Salvia is a sage-like psychoactive plant belonging to the mint
family. High doses of the drug, which has no known medical use, can
cause potentially serious health effects, such as unconsciousness and
short-term memory loss, Desmet said.