GARDEN PLANT POISONS TEENS

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

The 11 victims were treated at St. Mary's and Grand River hospitals 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, on
patrol in downtown Kitchener.

"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 Kitchener's downtown street culture.

The men allegedly touted the hallucinogenic effects of the North American
plant, also known as locoweed, jimson weed and, in botanical circles, datura.

The plant, sold in many garden centres, grows about a 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."

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

He said information gathered by police indicates the men distributing the
seeds had been taking pods from a private garden near the downtown. They
put the small, brown, kidney-shaped seeds in plastic bags and distributed
them free.

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

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 spree in 1994.

David Juurlinks, a clinical toxicologist with the Ontario Regional Poison
Centre at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, said the 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."