SALVIA: IT'S INTENSE, IT'S DANGEROUS, IT'S INEXPENSIVE . AND IT'S LEGAL

Few police, teachers or counselors have even heard of it, but the drug
salvia -- a powerful psychedelic herb from Mexico -- is legal in the
U.S. and easily purchased over the counter in Medford or on eBay.

Also known as Diviner's Sage or Sally-D, salvia divinorum is extremely
intense, say those who have tried it. They say it is as powerful or
more so than LSD and produces vivid, often terrifying hallucinations
and out-of-body experiences lasting five to 10 minutes. Effects vary
widely; a few users report little or no effect.

The herb is sold at Magic Man in the Bear Creek Shopping Center in
various strengths for $11.95 to $44.95. In Ashland, Zen Den doesn't
sell it and Puff's used to but stopped.

Theresa Jermain of Medford called police when a 17-year-old high
school student, for whom she is guardian, bought salvia at Magic Man
and, after smoking it, told her he "got real high" and it was "way too
strong."

After checking out the shop, police reported back to Jermain that the
drug was not illegal and there was nothing they could do, she said.

The student, "Chris," who asked not to be identified by his full name,
said he smoked it with 15 fellow South Medford High School students
and that only three of them had a "good trip" -- the rest being "very
bad." Students, he added, are little aware of the drug and it's not
being much used there.

He described his experience as an "out-of-body experience in a totally
different world" followed by a bad "body high," in which he felt sick
and awkward and couldn't move. With a cell phone, he videoed another
student on salvia hallucinating and trying to crawl out the back
window of a car, he said.

Sheriff's Lt. Dewey Patten, commander of the Jackson County Narcotics
Enforcement Team, said he wasn't aware of the drug. "I don't know what
we'd do if we found someone whacked on it, because it's not illegal,"
he said.

Jan Janssen, community outreach officer with Ashland Police, said
she'd never encountered it, but after consulting the drug Web site
erowid.org, said it's surprising that it's legal, considering that
most users report unfavorable experiences. Ashland officers trained as
drug recognition experts do know the drug and can spot its effects,
she said.

Patten consulted a comprehensive drug reference, "Uppers, Downers and
All-Arounders," co-written by Ashlander William Cohen, who also
lectures and makes films about psychoactive drugs.

Salvia, wrote Cohen, is similar to PCP and originates among the
Mazatec Indians of Oaxaca, Mexico, who use it to induce dreamlike
hallucinations, delirium and out-of-body experiences, so as to seek
out the causes of illness.

The effects, or "trip," last up to 10 minutes, tapering off over half
an hour, with the nature of the trip dependent on the person's
mind-set and surroundings.

"Cliff," a 19-year-old from Ashland who asked not to be identified,
called salvia an "anti-drug drug" because his trip was so intense that
it turned him off alcohol and drugs.

"In my first trip, my legs turned to a waterfall of tears," said
Cliff. "The second time, I thought, seriously, that I had died and
that my soul was being sucked out of me. It was the most intense thing
I've ever done. Coming off it, I felt needles were coming out of my
body. It definitely had teaching value because I was abusing (alcohol
and drugs) and it gave me a lot of insight about what I was doing."

Magic Man owner John Hopf said salvia is sold as an incense or
meditative aid like sage -- and that customers learn about it on the
Internet and come in to buy it. Although Hopf said he knows of no
psychedelic properties for the plant, his store had a stack of
printouts from a government Web site warning that salvia is a powerful
hallucinogen.

"Pete," 27, another Medford resident who used salvia and asked not to
be identified, said he had bought salvia from Magic Man seven or eight
times. He described it as "a meditative thing that helps you feel a
reality outside the ordinary reality and become one with yourself, as
a unity."

He added, "It's very personal, not smoke-a-bowl-and-relax."

"Max," an 18-year-old senior at North Medford High School who bought
salvia last week at Magic Man and declined to be identified, said
friends suggested he try it. "I'm curious. I'll probably feel good for
a while and hallucinate. They said it was worth the money for the
feeling you get."

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has the plant under review
based on its potential abuse, availability and effects on users, said
DEA public affairs officer Lauren Alder in Washington, D.C.

"The DEA lists it as 'of concern,' but just because it's not listed as
a controlled substance doesn't mean it's healthy or safe," said Alder.
"The medical profession stresses the danger of it."

The DEA Web page on salvia --
www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/newark_intel_bulletin_salvia.html
- -- classifies it as a psychoactive terpenoid, a family that includes
marijuana. It produces "profound hallucinations," with effects similar
to mescaline, the DEA bulletin said.

The DEA welcomes comments at its Drug and Chemical
Evaluation Section: 202-307-8570 (fax) or 202-307-7183 (phone).

Three years ago, staff Oregonian columnist Margie Boule branded salvia
"the most powerful natural hallucinogen known on earth."

"Salvia divinorum is a wild ride," wrote Boule. "This is not a drug
that simply makes people play Beatles' records backward. It induces
powerful hallucinations that sometimes are terrifying."

Salvia is illegal in Australia, Italy, Denmark, Norway and South
Korea. California Rep. Joe Baca in 2002 introduced a bill to ban it in
the U.S., but, says erowid.org, it is chemically different from
schedule I and II drugs, so it is not covered by the federal law used
to ban drugs.

SALVIAsalvia divinorum

Other names: Diviner's Sage, Sally-D

Cost: Sold in various strengths for from $11.95 to
$44.95 a bag

Use: Similar to PCP, intense hallucinations lasting for
5-10 minutes when the drug is smoked

Legal use: An incense or meditative aid, akin to sage

Federal position: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has the
plant under review. The government classifies it as a psychoactive
terpenoid, with effects similar to mescaline

Why is it still legal? Chemically differences from schedule I and II
drugs mean it is not covered by the federal law used to ban drug

Where is it banned? Australia, Italy, Denmark, Norway and South
Korea

Salvia web site: erowid.org

DEA information:
www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/newark_intel_bulletin_salvia.html

Comments: The DEA welcomes comments at its Drug and
Chemical Evaluation Section: 202-307-8570 (fax) or
202-307-7183 (phone).