DEA Warns About Legal Hallucinogenic Herb
7/29/2003

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has issued a nationwide warning about salvia divinorum, a legal hallucinogenic herb from Mexico that officials describe as stronger than LSD, the New York Daily News reported July 24.

"There has been a recent interest among young adults and adolescents to rediscover ethnobotanical plants that can induce changes in perception, hallucinations, or other psychologically induced changes," the DEA said in its "Drugs and Chemicals of Concern" bulletin.

Salvia can be chewed or taken orally, but it is more powerful when smoked. It can cause intense, debilitating, out-of-body visionary trances. Smoking just one-quarter of a gram of the substance can change perception and senses.

"We're looking at it," said John Gilbride, associate special agent in charge of the DEA's New York field office. "The DEA at the national level is tracking this to determine if this will become a growing trend as a drug of abuse."

The herb reportedly is being sold over the Internet, as well as in smoke shops in New York, Los Angeles, and other large cities.