Feb 12, 2007 1:00 am US/Eastern
Salvia: It's Legal, But Some Say Dangerous
A CBS4 News Special Report
(CBS4)
A powerful drug is popping up on college campuses across the country, a natural herb that users and researchers say is as potent as LSD. The DEA has a list of what it calls drugs of concern, and this is on that list.
It is marketed on-line as an alternative marijuana. It's legal, but as one mother tells us, it's deadly.
It's known as Magic Mint, Sally D, or Deviners Sage. Salvia Divinorum is a plant native to Mexico, and while it's foreign to most adults, it's well known on college campuses.
It's also on the radar of the Miami-Dade public school police.
"It's something new that is out there that the young adults are utilizing, but something we need to be aware of," said School Police Sgt. William Tagle
Kids all over the country are lining up to experience this short but intense high. Just do a quick internet search. And you'll find hundreds of videos of kids smoking salvia.
Brett, a 17-year-old honor student from Delaware had everything going for him, his mother said, until he found Salvia.
"Once he started Salvia, that's where it started going all downhill," said his mother, Kathy Chidester "He killed himself with carbon monoxide."
Brett's mother blames his death on the drug which she found out he was taking last summer.
"He just said mom, there's nothing wrong with it. It's legal," Chidester said.
We were able to score some salvia at a couple of different stories in South Florida, where it's easy to find. We weren't greeted with open arms at one Coconut Grove smoke shop, and CBS4 sent someone in undercover, posing as a buyer, they were never asked for ID.
"Nobody ever bought anything in my store without ID.", the owner claimed
But our tape proved otherwise. When our tester purchased salvia at the same store the day before, the clerk asked for cash, the tester was never asked for ID.
Though the drug legal, even the owner pointed out you can't sell anything to anyone in the store who is under the age of 18.
However, that doesn't apply to cyberspace. Salvia is widely available online, where establishing age can be difficult at best.
Users describe an out of body experience that can be unsettling, even scary. Some likened it's effects to another illegal drug.
Little is known about the effects of Salvia on the brain, but experts say it can show powerful effects.
It alters the way you can interact with external reality, as well as yourself," said researcher Dr. Eden Evins.
One student used less scientific terms.
"I can see how people could lose their minds and do really dumb stuff," he said.
That's what Brett's mother believes happened to her son.
She said essays Brett wrote about his experiences with salvia proved the drug altered his judgment.
"That's the angry part. The sad part is he was my only child, and I couldn't have loved him anymore," she said.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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