Police issue warning on ‘new’ drug
An herb, dubbed salvia divinorum, has caught the attention of local authorities

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“I don’t know how new it is, as far as this area,” Huff said. “It’s got me a little concerned because it’s legal.”

The herb contains the chemical salvinorin A, which is the active component that produces the effects, according to DEA information. Alexander said information on the herb, including ways to purchase it, can be easily found on the Internet, and it is also sold through the brand name Purple Sticky Salvia. Alexander said, it can also be purchased in pipe or tobacco stores, of which there are two in Ontario. He said he spoke to the owners of the two stores, about whether they sell the product, which is legal in Oregon. He said one owner said he did not because he is aware how it can be used and doesn’t wish to promote that.

The owner at Old School, Victoria Miller, the second business, however, said she did sell it but was not aware how it was used, Alexander said.

“The store owner claimed it’s for incense and knew nothing more than that,” Alexander said. Miller said she sells it as an aromatic incense as a powder and as leaves, which are currently not in stock. Miller said, while she is aware some people use it for its effects through looking at the Internet, she does not know how it is used.

“I’m nobody’s mother. I sell things that are legal to sell,” Miller said, adding she does not know how customers use the product or what they do with it. She also said she doesn’t sell anything to anybody younger than 18.

“I don’t sell incense to anybody under 18,” she said. MIller did indicate the incense was popular at her store, but she doesn’t keep track of how much she sells. Alexander said the police department is not trying to target people who sell it because it’s legal in most states, including Idaho and Oregon, nor is it that hard to find, regardless. He said Miller indicated she would pull it from the shelves at Old School, but that is not why he is concerned about the substance.

“And if that’s what she decides to do, then that’s great,” he said, adding what he has read about the substance and its side effects concern him.

Alexander said he is also concerned the incense label is just a way to get around describing its true purpose and that parents may not think anything of it if they see in their children’s possession.

While salvia divinorum apparently is fairly expensive, and there are other everyday products teens have been known to abuse that are far less costly, Alexander said he hopes to stop any problems that could originate from using the substance.

Miller, however, said she believes there is a different substance police should be worried over children using.

“What they really should be concerned about is a thing called moonflowers, and it’s killing kids,” she said, adding it can be found growing wild in the region.