MIDDLEBURY SEEKS BAN ON SALE OF HERB

Its name is salvia divinorum, and Middlebury town officials don't
want it sold to people younger than 18 -- or anyone else for that matter.

The leafy, dried substance, which is legal to sell and possess,
causes an effect similar to peyote and hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Middlebury public health officer Robert LaFiandra said he is
preparing to issue an emergency health order that would forbid its
sale by The Emporium of Tobacco and Gift Shop, at 56 College St.

The cease and desist order would apply only to the Middlebury shop.
Emporium also has a Rutland location, at 9 Evelyn St.

Middlebury Police Chief Tom Hanley said his department's school
resource officer was the first town official to become aware that
Middlebury teenagers were using the substance, which is also known as
Mexican Mint. Hanley said that while he is not aware of any students
becoming ill from its use, he's not taking that chance.

"It's a tragedy waiting to happen," Hanley said.

Salvia can be smoked or ingested. It is not classified as a drug by
the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, and its possession or sale is
not regulated at the state level. But its effects on a user can be
dangerously unpredictable, Hanley said.

A 5-gram tin of low potency salvia costs about $25. The same amount
with higher potency sells for about $30, Hanley said.

Salvia produces a short-lived high, ranging from five to 20 minutes.
Combine salvia with alcohol, however, and the hallucinogenic effect
can last several hours, he said.

"You can't have kids with developing brains putting this stuff in
their bodies," he said. "The effects are different for different
individuals and you just don't know what's going to happen."

Emporium owner James Stone, reached at his Rutland store by telephone
Tuesday morning, said he had no warning that the cease and desist
order would become a topic at Monday night's Middlebury Select Board
meeting. He learned of the board's discussion when reporters called him.

"I wasn't given advance notice to answer some of the questions and
alleviate a lot of problems," Stone said.

"It's not illegal to sell it to someone under 18, but obviously
there's moral issues," Stone said. He said he doesn't sell to people
younger than 18, and requires buyers to provide identification
proving their age.

Still, Hanley said children as young as 13 and 14 have been able to
buy the substance in Middlebury.

Stone said he has operated the Middlebury and Rutland retail shops
for 12 years. He said he wasn't aware of salvia until some of his
customers began asking for it.

Stone said each purchase of salvia comes with an informational
pamphlet about the leaf, which is a member of the sage family and
native to Mexico.

Rutland City Police Detective David LaChance, who works in the
narcotics unit, said Tuesday he was not aware that the shop in
Rutland had been selling salvia.

LaChance added that he is not aware of any problems that have been
associated with the sale of the herb, or of any move in the city to
have it banned.

"As a drug unit, we've have not encountered it," LaChance said. "It's
not illegal. It's not something we can enforce."

Rutland County State's Attorney James Mongeon added that he, too, was
unaware the shop had been selling salvia and knew of no efforts to
ban it in the city.

Staff writer Alan J. Keays contributed to this report.