Pubdate: Wed, 12 Mar 2008
Source: Carroll County Times (MD)
Copyright: 2008 Carroll County Times
Contact:  http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1524
Author: Ryan Marshall
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Salvia+Divinorum

EXPERTS - SALVIA DIVINORUM NOT PROMINENT IN CARROLL

Since several incidents in 2005, Salvia divinorum  hasn't been
prominent in Carroll County, according to  drug professionals.

In October 2005, a store on Bond Street in Westminster  called Heads N
Threads was raided and the owner and an  employee were arrested on
charges of selling and  possessing drug paraphernalia.

The raid was prompted by publicity surrounding Salvia  and after
several suspects in drug cases were reported  to have bought drug
paraphernalia at the store.

Salvia divinorum was banned in county schools in May
2005.

The herb is legal in Maryland but is illegal in  Louisiana and
regulated in Delaware and Missouri, among  other states.

George Butler, a drug investigator for the Carroll  County State's
Attorney's Office, said he hasn't heard  much about the herb in
Carroll or even in Maryland  since the raid on Heads N Threads.

It seems to be more of a fringe drug in the county  right now, Butler
said.

Mark Yount, a substance abuse prevention coordinator at  Junction
Inc., an organization that provides drug abuse  prevention and
treatment programs, said he believes  that while Salvia divinorum is
present in the county,  it's not common.

Yount said he hears about Salvia occasionally, but it's  not nearly as
commonly abused as alcohol, marijuana or  prescription drugs such as
OxyContin or Vicodin.
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MAP posted-by: Derek