"It burnt my throat....and then I just went numb in my whole body....so numb I lost control of my jaw," Jarrod Stoddard says of his one and only trip with Salvia almost six years ago.
"I hated it," Stoddard says. The now 20 year old, who works here behind the scenes on our newscast, was sure immediately he'd never to try Salvia again.
Salvia Divinorum is a leaf from the sage family that creates a quick, intense hallucinogenic high. Users compare it to LSD.
It is legal--so legal that Frivolity Kingdom where you can buy it on Lansing Ave. in Jackson advertises Salvia outside. It is also sold at several other locations in the area. Frivolity Kingdom's owner Greg Somervill says he does not sell to people under 18, but that the spectrum of who buys it is wide. Salvia Divinorum is generally fairly weak, which is why what most people buy is an extract that is much stronger.
"One of my friends was talking about how he and his brother found this new stuff called Salvia," Stockbridge high school sophomore Cody Allred tells us. He and many of his friends from a group called Explorers tell us they know people who have tried it. Many of them are under 18.
The Explorers, Waterloo Post 190, are a group that's preparing for careers in law enforcement and their group is, for the time being, involved with law creation too. They brought their concerns to Rep. Mike Simpson, D-Liberty Township, who is now having legislation drafted to address it.
"At the very least, we want this listed as a controlled substance, but ideally we want this banned from the state of Michigan," Simpson says.
Simpson calls it dangerous, and Somervill, owner of Frivolity Kingdom, doesn't disagree. He says the high is quick, and the herb is non-addictive, but he says many of his customers abuse it. Why is he selling it? He says media reports are only making it more popular. "Supply and demand," Somervill says.
Salvia Divinorum is already banned in 6 states and 10 countries.