AS SALVIA USE INCREASES, SO DO CONCERNS

Herb Can Cause Hallucinations

Norwich, Conn. — About a year ago, as the drug salvia divinorum grew
in popularity in California and New York, customers began asking
Marianne Thibeault if she sold it at her downtown store, The Other
Side.

In response to the demand, Thibeault indeed began selling salvia. Now,
a half-gram of the organic herb sells for $32.95 at her store. One
company she buys from promotes it as a sacred herb that will “turn
your brain on.”

“I just know people are in a different world,” Thibeault said of the
effects of using salvia. “Some people don’t like it. They don’t like
the feeling they had. Others enjoy it. ... It puts you in touch with
spirits. It’s going to bring you to the other side, not just my store,
but the other side.”

Salvia, a mint herb native to Mexico, is described by the National
Institute on Drug Abuse as a potent drug whose abusers experience
hallucinations or delusional episodes that mimic psychosis. The U.S.
Drug Enforcement Agency considers it a “drug of concern.”

Legal in state

But it’s legal in Connecticut and available for purchase for anyone 18
and older at smoke shops across the region. It’s also purchased
online. A bill this past session in the General Assembly proposed
restricting its use in the state, following the actions taken by 11
other states. The bill died, but the concerns remain.

“College students are using it,” said Michele Devine, executive
director of the Southeastern Regional Action Council in Montville, a
nonprofit group that addresses substance abuse problems in local
communities. “We’ve heard some usage on the Navy and sub bases. It’s
trickled down to some high schools in the area.”

Devine added, “I believe it’s an extremely, strong hallucinogen. It’s
been compared to LSD, and the effects of it on someone can be
disastrous and uncontrolled. It’s very scary, especially for youth,
because they are the ones who seem to be experimenting with it.”

State Rep. Betsy Ritter, D-Waterford, and the vice chairman of the
General Assembly’s Public Health Committee, said she and her
colleagues are interested in learning more about it, having only just
heard about the drug this past legislative session.

Rayallen Bergman, college prevention coordinator for the Southeastern
Regional Action Council, said there’s relatively little research on
the long-term effects of salvia. There’s no evidence, for instance,
that it is addictive.

But high schools have approached his office for information. He held a
workshop at Wheeler High School in North Stonington this past school
year because parents had become concerned about the use of salvia
among their children, but didn’t know much about the drug.

Devine said its popularity has been fueled by the fact that it isn’t
detected by drug tests. Spiritual benefits

Jay Lantz, spokesman of Salvia Zone in Ithaca, N.Y., which sells to
stores in Connecticut, said salvia benefits people when used
responsibly.

He said the hundreds of YouTube videos that show teens and young
adults using the drug are “enjoying themselves at home” and shouldn’t
be used to persuade the government that salvia should be banned.

“The benefits are a better understanding of one’s self and
communication with a higher power,” he said. “It’s not just something
to get messed up on.”

Lantz said comparisons to LSD are unfair because the high off of LSD
lasts hours longer. He said salvia is nontoxic and researchers are
looking into its possible medical benefits.

Lt. Stephany Bakoulis of the Norwich Police Department said he is not
aware of any instances where the use of salvia has prompted criminal
activity.

Lorraine Arpin, owner of Cloud Nine Shoppe in Moosup, said she has
been selling salvia for the last three or four years. She said she
gets few repeat customers for the drug.

“We just tell everybody that if you want to experiment with it, make
sure there’s two people. You don’t do it by yourself. You don’t drive.”