DEA ISSUES WARNING FOR LEGAL HERB STRONGER THAN LSD

NEW YORK - The Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a nationwide alert
about a legal hallucinogenic herb from Mexico that is more intense than LSD
and can cause debilitating, out-of-body visionary trances.

"There has been a recent interest among young adults and adolescents to
rediscover ethnobotanical plants that can induce changes in perception,
hallucinations or other psychologically induced changes," the DEA says in a
bulletin titled "Drugs and Chemicals of Concern."

Salvia divinorum, popularly known as diviner's mint, is most powerful when
smoked, but it also can be chewed or taken orally in an extract version. It
is one of about 1,000 members of a species that also includes common garden
plants.

At the highest intensity of use, one loses consciousness or "at least is
unable to later recall what one has experienced," according to the Web site
Salvia divinorum Frequently Asked Questions.

"The individual may fall, or remain immobile or thrash around," the site
says. "Somnambulistic behavior may occur; injuries can be sustained without
pain being felt."

Salvia is best taken in the presence of a sitter, according to the
Sagewisdom Web site, because taking a high dose can "cause you to lose
awareness of your physical environment, freak out or become delusional."

"We're looking at it," said John Gilbride, associate special agent in charge
of the DEA's New York field office.

"The DEA at the national level is tracking this to determine if this will
become a growing trend as a drug of abuse," Gilbride said.

The intelligence gathering process - which includes DEA agents and members
of the NYPD - is being complemented by state police members of the DEA's
Drug Enforcement Task Force, Gilbride added.

Daniel Siebert of Malibu, Calif., 42, a botanist who created the Salvia
divinorum Research and Information Center, said tests in mice show that the
herb is "not very toxic." He said a human user would likely pass out before
being able to take a lethal overdose.

Siebert said that because excessive use can lead to "very unpleasant
consequences - panic, injuries, fires, falls and severe social humiliation"
- - such overuse is not likely to be repeated.

He sells Salvia online, but, he said, only to those 18 and older. He said he
also believes that the herb should not be made illegal.

A 25-gram bag can be bought for $10, 100 grams for $35. Smoking as little as
one-quarter of a gram can alter perception and senses.

The DEA's national warning about the herb, which is part of the larger
family of sage plants, said that in addition to widespread Internet sales,
salvia can be purchased at head and smoke shops in New York, Los Angeles and
other large cities.

But last week, a New York Daily News reporter was unable to buy the
substance at any of 12 stores in Greenwich Village.

One DEA official said investigators were having a difficult time tracking
the level of sales because of the widespread use of the Internet.

Attempts to make Salvia divinorum and its active ingredients illegal under
the Controlled Substances Act have been unsuccessful.