A NEW DRUG HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT: COPS

There's a new drug on the streets and police can't do anything about
it, because it's legal and available over the counter at some smoke
and head shops.

Salvia divinorum is a species of sage that belongs to the mint family,
according to Health Canada. In the form of dried leaves, extract and
plant cuttings, it can be chewed or smoked. But it's the fine print on
the packaging that's alarming. It tells the user to have a sober
sitter present, and to never use it in public, on a balcony or near
dangerous items such as knives, guns or fire. They are urged to turn
off their phone, and never mix with other substances. Finally, the
packaging urges the person to "lie down and stay down."

Barrie police are concerned about the drug, but their hands are
tied.

Sgt. Dave Goodbrand, who was with the schools unit for three years,
said police are aware of the drug, and officers have come across it,
but use is not rampant.

"But because of its hallucinogenic effects, that's a concern," he
said. "A person could become easily confused. We have to assess that.
The biggest problem for us is, if it's not illegal, how do you deal
with it?"

Det.-Const. Jay Dorion, with the Barrie police drug unit, said salvia
is not a drug officers come across regularly because it's not
criminalized.

But he knows of at least one young Barrie man who had to be
hospitalized after using salvia. For Dorion, that's one too many.

"Hopefully, one day our government is going to criminalize it," he
said. "It's obviously a dangerous substance if people are OD'ing on
it."

"I'm not as familiar with (salvia), but we have seen it once or
twice," said Jack Vandenberg, who has been in the addictions field for
38 years and is the manager of Royal Victoria Hospital's addiction
services program.

The government says it's keeping a close eye on salvia.

"While Health Canada has not received any specific complaints about
the use of salvia divinorum, it is aware of reports suggesting that
(its use) for recreational purposes is on the rise, particularly among
youth," said Health Canada's Christelle Legault. "These reports have
not been verified, however."

Max, a 28-year-old Barrie resident and regular marijuana user, tried
salvia for the first time after reading about its "magical" effects.
He bought one gram for $10 at a north-end convenience store.

"My friends referred to it as legal weed," Max said. "If I could find
a legal alternative (to marijuana), I'd definitely try it."

The packaging includes an information website.

"It is not a substitute for any other drug," the website says,
referring to salvia as "an extraordinary visionary herb" and not a
recreational drug.

The website says it produces a "profoundly introspective state of
awareness" useful for meditation, contemplation and self-reflection,
but also trumpets its "fascinating psychoactive effects, sensual
enhancement, magical journeys, enchantment, apparent time travel,
philosophical insights, spiritual experiences and perhaps even healing
and divination."

For legal purposes, the packaging says salvia is meant to be burned as
incense, but it's no secret that people like Max are smoking it to get
high.

For his first go-round, Max smoked a little bit in a
pipe.

"The feeling probably lasted a half-hour, but it wasn't a good
feeling," he said. "It made me clumsy, but left me feeling empty. It
was a huge letdown.

"I was expecting the euphoria and different levels of high that you
read about," he added. "I just felt stupid, really. I couldn't walk
properly and I would drop things. I felt like a big clown."

Health Canada says salvia's use dates back centuries.

"While it has been used for traditional medicinal and spiritual
purposes among the native peoples of Mexico for hundreds of years, its
use as a recreational hallucinogen appears to date to the 1970s,"
Legault said.

Salvia is not approved by Health Canada.

However, it's also not regulated under the Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act, or under the United Nations Drug Control
Conventions.

But some countries have taken steps to control the import and sale of
the salvia, including Belgium, Denmark and Sweden.

Health Canada is collecting information on salvia and its active
ingredient, salvinorin A, from both national and international
sources, and considering what action might be warranted, Legault said,
"with a view of determining the appropriate level of regulatory
control for both."

After experimenting with it, Max doesn't think salvia should be
legal.

"I personally think salvia is more dangerous than marijuana," Max
said, due to the effects it has on the body and the tricks it plays on
the mind.

"The warning says it all. If marijuana had a warning label, it
wouldn't say you need a babysitter. It'd say you need a bag of chips."

The two drugs are night and day, he adds.

"It's definitely not a substitute for marijuana," Max
said.

"That's like talking about Coke and Pepsi. Marijuana is a great buzz.
With this (salvia), I was uncomfortable. I'd rather not smoke anything
than smoke that again."