KIDS USING HERB TO GET HIGH

Brandon teens are getting high on a potent hallucinogen for sale in
local stores, and there's nothing police can do about it.

Salvia divinorum is legal in Canada, but it's so potent B.O.B
Headquarters owner Robert Ritchot said he won't sell it to people
under age 18, and not to adults without stern warnings.

"It can have a disabling ability, temporarily," said Ritchot, who
started selling salvia at his Brandon stores two years ago due to
demand. But he wants to educate people who want to try it.

Customers have described salvia's affects as "crazy," he said, and
advises the curious to have a sober person with them when they experiment.

"I don't care how experienced you are in every other substance, this
is totally different and people just don't know what to expect,"
Ritchot said. "I just can't warn enough that you've just got to be
careful."

Ritchot, who has tried salvia himself, said users can't overdose and
his research hasn't turned up any long-term harmful physical or mental
affects. And it isn't believed to be addictive.

Still, he's concerned users may try it in public and get frightened by
the images they see, or try to drive a car under its numbing influence.

Technically though, if it weren't for the restrictions imposed by shop
owners like him, a 15-year-old could walk into a store and buy salvia,
or they can purchase it over the Internet.

Addictions Foundation of Manitoba youth rehabilitation counselor Joan
Rodenbush said Brandon minors are getting their hands on it.

"I think parents should be aware," said Rodenbush, who researched the
herb after a student walked into her Crocus Plains Secondary School
office about a year ago.

"His concern was that he had tried it and was quite amazed that this
would be legal."

While she said it isn't a really a popular drug, she's concerned some
youths may not be aware how powerful salvia is because it's not illegal.

"If you use enough of it, it can be pretty scary," Rodenbush said.
"You can get some fairly intense experiences with panic and that kind
of thing."

The salvia divinorum plant is a member of the mint family and in the
Oaxaca mountains of southern Mexico.

Traditionally, it's been used by Mexican shamans to remedy headaches,
rheumatism, abdominal swelling and diarrhea. More recently, it's being
recreationally, smoked or chewed, for potent hallucinations.

Rodenbush said salvia isn't controlled here or in the United States,
but it is in other nations. Australia, for example, made it illegal to
buy, sell or possess salvia in 2002.

Given restrictions elsewhere, Rodenbush said it would make sense to
control it here.

Health Canada spokeswoman Carolyn Sexauer said the department has been
aware of the drug's presence in Canada since 2002. But it doesn't
appear in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

A substance has to pose a significant risk to public health and safety
to be added to the Act, Sexauer explained.

"There's been no case of dependency and it's short-term, it's
short-acting," Sexauer said, even though the department notes it poses
a risk for accidents as it can cause short-term memory loss and
unconsciousness. "We're still continuing to monitor."

She said there's little information on the substance, how it works
isn't fully understood, and its long-term effects haven't been observed.

However, the department consults with police and hospitals and there
have been no deaths or long-term injuries reported. There are no plans
to restrict salvia at this time.

It can take 12 to 18 months for a substance to be placed on the
controlled list, but that can be sped up if there's an extraordinary
risk to the public.

If it's not regulated by Health Canada, police can't bust anyone for
possession, said Staff Sgt. John Fleming of the RCMP drug section in
Winnipeg. Nevertheless, he's concerned based on a description of its
effects. "If it is not regulated, the possession and use of it is not
against the law in this country," Fleming said. "Would I want somebody
using it, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of it,
baby-sitting my kids?... No I wouldn't."

Brandon Police Service Staff Sgt. Shane Corley said the force
researched salvia about a year ago, based on concerns of a parent.
There haven't been other complaints but he's troubled by the
description of salvia's effects.

"Certainly, as a parent I'd be concerned, let alone as a citizen,"
Corley said.

A 21-year-old Brandon woman who has tried salvia, said it doesn't make
sense that marijuana is illegal and salvia isn't.

"They both should be legal," said the woman who asked not to be named.
"It doesn't hurt anybody."

She smoked salvia last year at her summer home with friend.

"Everything was a blanket and just tucked in behind my eyes," said the
woman, describing how the scenery seemed to envelop her. "It was just
a really unreal feeling, I don't know, it was cool."

She had a good trip, she said, but only felt like using it one other
time.

A Vancouver company supplies B.O.B. Headquarters with its salvia. It's
sold there in one-gram packages in two levels of potency. The less
potent package costs $25, the more potent, $35.

The store sells about six to 12 packages per week to a wide range of
clients - from 18-year-olds looking for a new buzz to professionals,
according to staff.

It looks like dried tea and takes just a pinch to work. Its effects
last for less time than other hallucinogens, about 30 to 45 minutes.
Ritchot said he' s witnessed users act paranoid, but they usually stay
still. They can have out-of-body experiences and hallucinations
similar to those generated by acid (LSD).

A Brandon Sun reporter tried a couple of "hoots" and said he was
surprised when he imagined the walls of the office had disappeared. He
said it seemed as though he, along with his chair and office
furniture, had been peeled away like a sticky postage stamp.

He described feeling like he the furniture were then stuck on the side
of a cruise ship at sea and recalled being perplexed that his managing
editor had joined him on holiday.

As he regained his bearings he said he felt like he'd been away for a
week. The effects started to fade after five minutes. The only
physical effect he reported was light-headedness.

B.O.B Headquarters employees warn customers to use salvia in small
portions, to sit somewhere comfortable when they use it, and to have
someone supervise.

They've also written a warning which they've inserted into each
package. It advises those with mental illness to abstain. Even those
without a history of mental illness can experience "toxic psychosis" -
random hallucinations voices and bizarre thoughts. Effects usually
stop within a week, the package states, but users can experience
chronic pain and anxiety attacks.