HERBAL CRAZE PUTS DRUG USERS ON A LEGAL HIGH

Festival-Goers Are Rejecting Traditional Narcotics In Favour Of New
Hallucinogens Such As Salvia and Kratom

Tens of thousands of clubbers and festival-goers are turning their backs on
traditional narcotics and switching instead to so-called 'legal highs'
following the introduction of a number of new products on the market that
outshine their predecessors - because they actually appear to work.

Packets of dried leaves claiming to provide a marijuana-like high and boxes
of tablets that allegedly produce an amphetamine-like buzz have been around
for decades but until recently they were generally dismissed as being
ineffective. But in recent months new herbs like Salvia, a rare Mexican
plant related to sage, and Kratom, an obscure Thai herb, have produced
legions of devoted users, many of whom claim they are just as effective as
illicit drugs. Business in the multi-million pound legal high trade is now
booming with the number of products on offer having quadrupled in the past
five years.

One of the most popular products is Salvia, used for centuries by Mexican
Indians in religious ceremonies, which produces a powerful hallucinogenic
effect when chewed, drunk in an infusion or smoked through a pipe. Also
known as Diviner's Sage and Sally D many users claim to have vivid
out-of-body experiences, though others suffer only terrifying nightmares.

Banned in Finland, Australia and Denmark, Salvia currently remains legal in
Britain and the rest of the world with the Home Office having no plans to
take any action against it. The So High SoHo shop in central London is one
of hundreds of outlets openly selling the substance in the UK. Salvia is
available at UKP10 for a bag of leaves or UKP30 for a bag of the more
powerful "extract" version.

'It takes you to an incredible place,' says the enthusiastic saleswoman.
'It's a real trip, like coming out of anaesthetic. You'll have a great
time, it's really, really good.' Devotees fear the increasing popularity of
Salvia may lead to a ban. Spiralling use in Italy, Germany and the Baleric
Islands has caused concern to local law enforcement agencies. The US Drug
Enforcement Administration includes the plant in its list of 'drugs and
chemicals of concern' and has spent the past two years monitoring its use.
'It is currently under review by the medical and scientific community to
determine if it should be a controlled substance,' a spokesperson told The
Observer.

Kratom, a tree native to Thailand and other parts of southeast Asia, has
been available in the UK for the past six months and is proving popular.
'It's really taking off,' says Mark Evans, head of the web-based retailer
Everyone Does It. 'It's spreading by word of mouth. People are trying it,
liking it and coming back for more.'

Believed to work on the same receptors in the brain as heroin, Kratom
initially induces alertness, increasing physical energy and the desire to
interact with others. At higher doses it becomes a sedative, constricting
the pupils and desensitising the user to physical and emotional pain. The
effects last for up to six hours. A packet obtained by The Observer states
that Kratom will 'induce a unique and relaxed dreamy sensation.' The
manufacturers recommend that the product is used no more than twice a month
in order to ensure it does not become habit forming.

'There are several reasons why the herbal products are becoming more
popular,' says Evans. 'One is the price - they are often cheaper than the
stuff you can buy on the street. Another is quality which tends to be more
consistent. In the past some of the products have been a bit hit and miss
but, with something like Salvia extract, it is almost always going to have
an effect.'

Started on a market stall with just UKP500, Evans's company now turns over
more than UKP3 million each year and offers 22,000 products including
numerous legal highs, cannabis seeds and drugs paraphernalia including
bongs, scales and specialist books. The firm's website receives 2.5 million
hits each month.

The massive growth of the legal high market mirrors the recent growth in
the market for magic mushrooms, currently on sale at more than 300 outlets
across the UK. Under the current law the magic mushroom is not a controlled
substance but the hallucinogen, psilocin, that it contains, is classified
as Class A drug. Provided the gatherer does not commercially 'prepare' the
mushrooms - by freezing them, drying them or using them to make tea -
before selling them they are not committing a criminal offence.

The peyote cactus is also widely available. Used by native Americans for
centuries, peyote produces effects similar to LSD. Like mushrooms the
cactus can be sold as it becomes illegal only when prepared as a
hallucinogenic.

Evans admits that natural products are also popular because many users see
them as safer than their chemical cousins - use of ecstasy has declined by
20 per cent in the last year according to Home Office figures. However,
this is not always the case. Magic mushrooms have been linked to psychosis
while a key component of many herbal ecstasy tablets was banned in the US
this year after being linked to 155 deaths.

Another natural drug, the hallucinogenic wild flower known as Angel's
Trumpet, which is becoming increasingly common in the UK, has been linked
to several deaths in America. Last October an 18-year-old student in Halle,
Germany, used a pair of garden shears to cut off his tongue and penis after
drinking a tea made from the plant.