The New York Times
NEW YORK — An obscure hallucinogenic herb from Mexico is gaining a toehold in the world of recreational drugs, prompting law enforcement officials to increase their scrutiny of the plant, which is legal, and moving health experts to issue cautions about the drug, whose jarring effects are not fully understood.
The herb, Salvia divinorum (pronounced SAL-vee-ah dee-vin-OR-em), is a type of sage plant that can cause intense hallucinations, out-of-body experiences and, when taken in higher doses, unconsciousness and short-term memory loss. Users have also reported sensations of traveling through time and space, assuming the identities of other people and even the feeling of merging with inanimate objects.
Scientists are still unclear about precisely how it interacts with the brain or how it may affect the rest of the body or if it may lead to possible long-term side effects.
"People who are arbitrarily using it need to be cautious," said Dr. Ethan Russo, a neurologist in Missoula, Mont., who studied Salvia divinorum and other herbs while preparing his book, "Handbook of Psychotropic Herbs" (Haworth Press).
"It’s totally different from anything they may have tried before."
Salvia divinorum, which is native to Mexico, can be smoked or chewed like tobacco. Its leaves can also be boiled to make an intoxicating tea. And unlike most other hallucinogenic substances, Salvia divinorum is legal in the United States, although drug enforcement officials say they are looking closely at the herb.
Precise figures about the plant — it is also known as ska Maria Pastora and diviner’s sage — its use and proliferation are almost impossible to gather. It is available almost exclusively through the Internet.
Authorities said they had no reports of health problems, hospitalizations or emergency room visits that might be attributed to the plant. But herbalists, users and sellers say its popularity is growing.
Users dismiss the concerns, saying that no evidence of an addictive quality has been documented, and pointing out that the Mazatec Indians in the Oaxaca region of Mexico have used it, with no apparent ill effects, for centuries.
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