THEY CALL IT SALLY D

It is sometime after lunch on a weekday and the hum of the city has
crawled to the background and, mixed with the blazing sun, creates a
surreal effect that causes the lines of reality to blur ever so slightly.

Inside the dark cool of a Tranquille Street store, Wesley and James
stand casually behind one of two glass counters that form the border
of the shop's layout.

Inside the see-through boxes rests an eclectic ensemble of pipes,
lighters and associated paraphernalia one would expect to find in
their Lemonade Stand.

Sounds of passing traffic float in lazily through the open door to
oddly accentuate the pleasing smell of packaged incense.

James, the talker, is speaking fluidly about the small package sitting
in the dimple of Wesley's outstretched palm.

Originally from Mexico and brought into Canada via a supplier in
Manitoba, its contents contain an enhanced and concentrated form of
one the most powerful psychoactive plants known to man.

Its name is salvia divinorum, a member of the sage family known also
as Diviner's Sage, Magic Mint, Sally D, Sage of the Seers or, simply,
salvia.

When smoked, its effects, although short-lived, range from a
heightened sense of colour and texture, to open-eye hallucinations, to
altered states of reality and out-of-body experiences.

For James, it was like upping his brainpower five-fold en route to a
potent inward journey.

"It is," he says, "a very spiritual-type drug."

Used for centuries by the Mazatec shamans living in the mountainous
Mexican state of Oxaxaca for healing purposes and spiritual journeys,
salvia has recently emerged in modern culture as a relatively
inexpensive and non-addictive alternative to other mind-altering substances.

Popularized by media coverage and word of mouth, it has begun to
develop a reputation as an "out-of-this-world experience" that carries
with it little immediate health risks and, so far, no known long-term
effects.

Although discussions of its legality have begun in Canada (several
states in the U.S. have passed legislation to control its sale, while
Australia has banned it) its sale remains 100 per cent legal.

When asked a few weeks ago, the head of the Kamloops RCMP drug section
said he has never heard of it.

Wesley and James, who've been carrying Sally D for the past 18 months,
say demand in the Tournament Capital has been steady.

On average, they sell from 15 to 20 packs a week, with the average
buyer being 30 years of age and older.

However, about a quarter of the requests for salvia have come from
minors, something Patrick McDonald, the program supervisor at the
Phoenix Centre, finds troubling.

His primary concern is that salvia's budding reputation as a harmless
drug might make it more appealing to curious juveniles looking for an
alternative to harder drugs like crystal meth and alcohol.

Harmless or not, McDonald says, it is still a drug.

"I think any time that some positive gets out regarding a substance,
we are walking in dangerous territory," he says.

"Bottom line, most drugs do provide some pleasure of relief, so it's
hard to tell people that they are bad when they feel good on some level."

The thin ethical line surrounding the sale of salvia is what prompted
Lois Petch to pull it from the shelves at the Desert Hemp Hut.

Like James and Wesley, Petch began carrying it to accommodate a strong
customer demand, discontinuing its sale only recently after
encountering a moral dilemma.

She says she never sold to minors.

"I never really felt comfortable dealing with it," Petch says. "Even
though [the high lasts] only five minutes, it seems so intense."

She remains undecided if she will re-stock the drug.

Bob Ritchot, the Lemonade Stand's supplier, is adamant that salvia
posses no threat unless it is misused.

Every order that goes out, he says, has an information package tacked
on to ensure the seller and buyer are fully aware of the product's
potency.

Furthermore, the "introspective" nature of the high, he says, makes it
the polar opposite to other "party drugs," decreasing its appeal to
the younger or curious user.

For most, the first experience is generally the last, with only the
experienced user taking the drug on successive occasions.

"It is not going to make you jump out of a window," he says. "It is
not a party drug."

James and Wesley agree, but acknowledge the burden of responsibility
that comes with selling such a powerful substance.

Before they hand over the package, they say they hammer home the
basics to the buyer, making sure they know what they are getting into
and what to expect.

They demand identification "religiously" and have turned away several
minors in the past, although they don't think salvia would ever become
popular with minors or the mainstream.

"After once or twice, I think people would spend their money on
something else," says James. "Most people don't come back to do it."