ONTARIO TEENS OUT TO GET HIGH END UP POISONED, IN HOSPITAL

Culprit Popular Garden Plant Known As Angel's Trumpet

Kitchener, Ont. - Looking for a legal high has landed 11 teens in local
hospitals over the past two weeks.

The 11 victims were treated after eating the seeds of a popular garden
plant known as angel's trumpet.

One victim, a 16-year-old girl, spent 16 hours in restraints as she fought
the powerful hallucinations brought on by the poisonous seeds.

"We've found (victims) out in traffic, we've found them on the railway
tracks," said Const. Derek Burger of Waterloo regional police.

The first local incident was reported Aug. 17 by Const. Jen Davis, who was
on patrol in this southern Ontario city's downtown area.

"She found some kids who were totally out of it," Burger said. They were
immediately taken to hospital, but "it was two more days until they were
able to speak well enough to articulate what they had taken."

The victims, all in their teens and early 20s, appear to have fallen prey
to a sales pitch by two men known in the downtown street culture.

The men allegedly touted the hallucinogenic effects of the North American
plant, also known as locoweed, jimson weed, and it's botanical name, datura.

The plant, sold in many garden centres, grows about one metre high and has
large, trumpet-shaped flowers.

Spiky green seed pods grow beneath leaves on the stem of the plant.

The seeds are not a controlled substance because their serious side-effects
are believed to seriously outweigh any possible "high."

"Farmers won't grow this because they'll kill their animals," Burger said.

Information gathered by police indicates that the men distributing the
seeds had been taking pods from a private garden near downtown, he said.

They then placed the tiny brown kidney-shaped seeds in plastic baggies and
distributed them free.

Police have since destroyed the remaining seed pods in the garden with the
permission of homeowners.

Police believe the pair planned to cultivate paying customers once enough
people were hooked.

But the seeds are a poison, not a drug, Burger said.

Side-effects include increased heart rate, severely impaired motor skills,
blurred vision, memory loss and incontinence.

"Most of the kids can't remember enough about what happened to know if it
was good or not," Burger said.

Combined with other drugs, Burger fears the poison could prove fatal.

While this is the first time Waterloo regional police have dealt with a
rash of angel's trumpet poisonings, there have been numerous cases across
the province.

Ten youths were hospitalized in Sault Ste. Marie in 1998 after eating the
seeds. Hamilton had a similar outbreak in 1994.

David Juurlinks, a clinical toxicologist with the Ontario Regional Poison
Centre, said toxic effects of angel's trumpet are serious, but usually
short-lived.

"This stuff does tend to wear off, but it can take several days to a week,"
Juurlinks said.

Burger said it is imperative for anyone who may have taken the drug to seek
medical attention.

"Take them to the hospital," Burger advised anyone who suspects someone
they know has taken angel's trumpet seeds. "They've been poisoned - they
haven't taken drugs."