SALVIA NOT A 'FUN' HIGH, BUT HAS FANS

Ohio Considers Banning Hallucinogen

Lee Eubanks didn't really like the high he got from smoking salvia.

It made him paranoid, and whenever he used it, said Eubanks, 17, of
Milford, he felt almost paralyzed.

He got a much better buzz from alcohol and marijuana.

But salvia is cheap and legal - and it doesn't show up on a drug
screening, so he kept using it.

"It would free me from the problems I was dealing with and just allow
me to run away from them," he said.

The herb salvia divinorum, not to be confused with the colorful red
or blue flowers popular in so many home gardens, is gaining notoriety
as a hallucinogen.

Ohio lawmakers are debating whether to make the herb illegal.

The plant's effects range from mild relaxation and visual
hallucinations to a state where users can't move or feel pain, said
Monica Mertens, program director for the Pathway Family Center in
Milford. The center, part of a national network, provides drug and
alcohol treatment for teens.

Commonly called "diviner's sage," salvia is used in religious
ceremonies by the Mazatec Indians in Mexico to induce a visionary,
trance-like state.

Proponents of the drug say it's a powerful tool for self-exploration,
but they also warn that users shouldn't be left alone while the high
lasts. Salvia is not a "party drug," like marijuana or Ecstasy, they warn.

Teens and other users can find it online with a few clicks of the
mouse. It's also sold in some head shops, tobacco stores and
botanical shops around the region.

"It's pretty easy to find," Eubanks said.

It might not be so easy to find for much longer, though.

The Ohio House of Representatives passed a bill in April to make the
herb and its active ingredient controlled substances; the bill is
stalled in committee in the Ohio Senate.

Lawmakers in a handful of other states, including Missouri, North
Dakota, Illinois, Delaware, Kansas and Florida, have outlawed the plant.

Not much is known about the herb's long-term effects, or how toxic it might be.

So far, there are no indicators salvia is addictive, said Rob Goetz,
a senior poison specialist at Cincinnati's Drug and Poison
Information Center. "It's more of a 'get high and do something
stupid' kind of risk," he said.

There were plenty of stories circulating in the 1960s and 70s about
LSD users getting hurt or killed while under the drug's influence, he
said. The same thing could happen to someone using salvia, Goetz said.

An online user's guide for salvia divinorum warns users that they
should use it only when a "sober sitter" is with them so they don't
fall or try to drive.

Although teens might look forward to taking a trip with salvia, it's
really not a fun high, Goetz said.

"The abuse potential is likely to be minimal because the trip is so
unpleasant," he said. "I think most people don't really like it. It's
not something that's easy to control."

Some users report feelings of paranoia or panic after using salvia,
or a deep introspection. It's not a drug that leaves users feeling
happy and relaxed, he said.

There are no statistics on how widely used salvia is because it's
legal in most states. Goetz said the center gets only a few calls about it.

Eubanks remembered "checking my pockets, like I thought the people I
was with were stealing from me" after he used the drug. "I felt like
everyone was against me, like they were all watching me."

Even though he called the experience "frightening," he kept using
salvia when nothing else was available.

"It was there for me when I didn't have alcohol or marijuana," he
said. "It was there when I didn't have anything else to do or I was bored."

Eubanks went into a residential treatment program, the Pathways
Family Center in Indianapolis, after he was arrested for drunken
driving. He'd previously been through an outpatient program, but
relapsed after two months of sobriety.