Salvia Divinorum, a powerful legal hallucinogen

Salvia divinorum is a naturally occurring plant grown in the Sierra Mazateca region of Mexico. Mazatec natives have used the plant for centuries in ritual healing ceremonies and vision quests but it's now heading north and into the hands of people looking for a legal high.

Most users light the leaves in a glass pipe and inhale the smoke, producing a high that lasts for up to 20 minutes, generally including strong hallucinations.

"There's so little information out there about salvia," Dr. Kavita Babu, a professor in medical toxicology at Brown University in Providence, R.I., told the Sunday Sun.

Babu is one of the authors of a study released earlier this year on salvia seeking to raise physician awareness of the drug.

"Gram for gram, it's one of the most powerful naturally occurring hallucinogens out there," Babu said.

Her biggest concern is that there is no knowledge of the long-term effects of salvia use.

"We have a lot to learn about salvia and what concerns me is that something we know so little about is unregulated," Babu warns.

"Even though there may be no documented fatalities or injuries, it may be going unnoticed."

And because it is legal, salvia's popularity is growing.

Maybe someone laced yours with a real drug, i've never heard any stories that weren't from 'this guy my friend knows' about this crap working.

Agreed, the report didn't make it true... know what would have? Videos of kids doing it, doctors discussing the effects, websites selling the stuff for consumption, and the be-all-end-all of information... wikipedia saying it is so.

this stuff is illegal here in Germany.

Salvia - isn't that sage? I have plenty of it in my garden this year.