Pubdate: Fri, 04 Mar 2005
Source: Times-Picayune, The (LA)
Copyright: 2005 The Times-Picayune
Contact:  http://www.nola.com/t-p/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/848

HOMEGROWN HALLUCINOGENS

Most people look at the periwinkle and see a hardy bedding plant that will 
make flower beds look colorful all summer long. But others look at Vinca 
rosea and other common plants used in landscaping and see a way to get high.

People should be able to use periwinkle, morning glory, angel's trumpet and 
other plants with hallucinogenic properties to beautify their gardens. But 
they shouldn't be allowed to turn them into drugs. A bill filed by Rep. 
Michael Strain would make doing so a crime.

House Bill 20 targets 40 different hallucinogenic plants, making it illegal 
to produce, possess or distribute anything containing them for human 
consumption. The penalty for producing or distributing such products would 
be two to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to $20,000. Possession would 
carry a term of up to five years and a fine of up to $5,000. The penalties 
are comparable to those for other hallucinogens.

The bill is a reasonable response to a rash of problems last summer. Two 
Des-trehan teenagers had to be hospitalized after drinking angel's trumpet 
tea, and three Kenner youths landed in the hospital after drinking Kool-Aid 
laced with angel's trumpet.

Following those incidents, the Kenner City Council and New Orleans City 
Council adopted ordinances aimed at angel's trumpet. But a statewide law 
that deals not only with angel's trumpet but other highly toxic plants is 
needed.

Ingesting these plants is quite dangerous. The hallucinogenic effects 
themselves can prompt bizarre and risky behavior. Kenner Police said one 
teenager high on angel's trumpet tried to jump off a roof, and another 
tried to take a bite out of his own arm. But the plants are also highly 
toxic. Angel's trumpet causes fever, blurred vision, urine retention and 
delirium. A Florida teenager died from its effects.

When a flower stops being a flower and becomes a drug, it's appropriate to 
treat it as such. This bill won't prevent everybody from carrying on 
dangerous experiments with plants from the backyard, but it will show that 
Louisiana is taking the hazard seriously.
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